AMHERST — With scheduling changes that reflect a popular strategy among area colleges amid the coronavirus pandemic, Hampshire College will begin in-person classes earlier than planned and consolidate campus move-outs and returns.
The Amherst liberal arts college will begin classes on Aug. 25 and finish the semester on Nov. 20. Students who arrive on campus in August will be expected to stay until the end of the semester.
“We are not shortening the fall calendar. We are starting and finishing earlier and compressing the calendar by eliminating breaks, allowing us to teach a full semester within a compressed time frame,” a statement to the campus community said.
“Students are welcome to remain in residence through the end of the term in early December, as long as they remain on campus during the Thanksgiving break. Students who leave campus for Thanksgiving will not return until the beginning of the spring term.”
The statement was authored by Djola Branner, vice president for student affairs, and Christoph Cox, incoming dean of faculty and vice president for academic affairs.
Many institutions, including the University of Massachusetts Amherst, are moving their start dates from early September to late August, then using the Thanksgiving week of Nov. 23-27 to clear the campus. Some will complete the fall semester and/or finals remotely after Thanksgiving.
In some cases, classes will be held on holidays (Labor Day, Columbus Day and Veterans Day) as colleges seek to offer a full term with a modified set of calendar dates. Clearing the campus during Thanksgiving week will eliminate students going home that week, coming back to finish the term and leaving again in December.
Under Hampshire’s new schedule, only one move-out and return cycle, and not potentially two, will occur.
The college does not give final exams. Because its students can customize their programs to their interests, a significant number are enrolled in independent study/research, mentored by one or two faculty members.
Some students who leave for Thanksgiving will likely submit their final projects and papers from home in December. Others may choose to stay on campus through Thanksgiving and into early December to retain access to academic spaces and resources as they complete projects and papers.
Hampshire will assign each student a single-occupancy dorm room. Occupied rooms will be spread out within campus residences, maintaining all areas below 50% capacity. The number of students sharing any bathroom will be “strictly limited,” the release said.
In-person dining, pickup meals and food delivery will depend on the state guidelines in the fall. Academic courses and student activities will observe social distancing guidelines, while providing “ample opportunity for ... interaction and personalized attention,” according to the statement.
Seminar meetings will be held in rooms that accommodate adequate spacing and will follow guidelines for facial coverings. Course schedules are being expanded to reduce traffic within academic buildings, and every class will be designed to include online options.
Hampshire will maintain student COVID-19 screening requirements for before and after return to campus. There will also be same-day symptomatic COVID-19 testing available on campus. Plans are in place for designated isolation or quarantine housing, along with dining, medical and residential support for students who may need to be in quarantine because of COVID-19 exposure in the fall.
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June 19, 2020 at 10:44PM
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