Wheaton College unveils plan to return to campus in fall

WHEATON COLLEGE announced late Tuesday its plan to return to campus in the fall. / COURTESY WHEATON COLLEGE
WHEATON COLLEGE announced late Tuesday its plan to return to campus in the fall. / COURTESY WHEATON COLLEGE

NORTON – Wheaton College, among the first local colleges to announce its intention to bring students back to campus in the fall, unveiled late Tuesday its plans to restart campus life at the private college.

Wheaton, like all colleges, closed its campus in March and switched to online curricula through the rest of the spring semester due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Wheaton President Dennis M. Hanno said in a letter to the campus community that elimination of COVID-19 exposure on campus is “unreasonable to assume,” but that Wheaton is confident its strategy is “comprehensive and informed by the best public health information and guidance currently available.”

Fall classes at Wheaton will begin Aug. 24 and run through Nov. 24, with classes being held on both Labor Day (Sept. 7) and during the Oct. 12-13 break, Hanno said. Reading days and final exams will be done remotely the week of Nov. 30. Hanno also said classes be set up in a hybrid model, offering both in-person and online instruction at the same time, with some classes being held entirely online.

Regarding housing, only single- and double-occupancy rooms will be offered at Wheaton, in order to apply social distancing, Hanno said. Plus, he said residence hall occupancy will be adjusted to account for possible isolation and medical needs for students.

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“For returning students, these changes will mean that the recent room selection process will need to be revisited,” Hanno said. “For new students, the housing process will largely remain the same.” He also said more information on campus living will be communicated “soon” from Wheaton’s residence life.

Visitors will also be restricted from campus building at Wheaton, Hanno said, unless the visit is part of a college tour or visitors received prior approval. Students living on campus will also be offered a one-time $500 room-and-board credit.

Along with social distancing, students, faculty and staff are required to have masks with them at all times, Hanno said.

“[Masks] must be worn when in the presence of others and in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain such as common workspaces, meeting rooms and classrooms,” Hanno said.

Wheaton is also partnering with Harvard University’s Broad Institute and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for its testing plan. The testing will include onboard testing upon a return to campus for everyone, symptomatic testing and “frequent” ongoing testing “to identify infected but nonsymptomatic individuals,” Hanno said.

He also said faculty, staff and students will be required to conduct self-monitoring of symptoms via a screening tool provided by Wheaton before reporting to work or leaving residence halls each day.

Student organizations are encouraged to hold virtual meetings, Hanno said, and in-person programming will only be allowed “when all social distancing protocols can be accommodated.” Events and activities will be offered both in person with limited capacity and virtually based on guidelines offered by both Massachusetts Department of Public Health and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“All of our plans have been developed with flexibility in mind, given that we have definitely seen the need to be flexible and adaptable over these past few months,” Hanno said. “And I fully expect that our plans will continue to evolve and change since so much is unknown and even expert guidance varies from day to day.”

James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter at @James_Bessette.

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