We know our community has many questions about how the first four weeks of the fall academic calendar will unfold. We appreciate your patience while we work out what the phasing-in process will look like, identify who will be invited to return to campus and when, and discern what types of flexibility will be needed around the delivery methods of courses in those first weeks.
We are working with our partners across campus to plan organized logistics that will be flexible enough to respond to changes in our health situation, that allow for a gradual and careful repopulation of the campus site, and that take into consideration the varying needs of specific academic programs. We also need some time to work directly with our faculty partners before sharing more details.
While we have stated that new students will be among the first to return to campus, the deans and the department chairs in each school are working to identify the order in which other cohorts of students should return to campus based upon the needs of students in particular majors and programs. For example, graduate students, who live off campus, may be invited to return to campus in the first week as well as some students in theatre arts, environmental sciences, biological sciences, music, physical therapy, communications, and education.
As we phase in the return of our students over a four week period beginning on September 8th, following the health and safety guidelines mandated by the state of NY as well as by the Ithaca College Return to Campus Task Force, it is important to note that in-person, remote, and blended instruction will begin for all students, on Tuesday, September 8. The multiple modalities of instruction during the staggered return to campus will allow all students to begin their courses in early September while we de-densify our classrooms, test streaming capabilities in real time, and continue to acclimate new students to the college while building community with all students in a variety of instructional formats.
By Monday, October 5 we will complete the phased return to campus for all students and in-person, remote instruction, and blended instruction will continue. The modality of instruction will depend upon the degree to which we must de-densify, provide hands-on experiences, studio and lab experiences, or performance based instruction while all our students are back on campus. The goal is to provide as much in-person instruction as possible based upon the aforementioned criteria. Accommodations will be made for those faculty, staff, and students for whom a return to campus is a health risk.
By July 17, we will be able to share our Return to Campus move-in plan with the community at large, including details around the phasing of the return of students as well as move-in dates for each cohort. In the meantime, I ask for your continued patience as we finalize the details of our fall semester, while remaining nimble and adaptable in this time of unprecedented uncertainty.
Sincerely,
La Jerne Terry Cornish, Ph.D.
Provost and Sr. Vice President for Academic Affairs
Rosanna Ferro, Ed.D.
Vice President for Student Affairs and Campus Life
Hayley Harris
Vice President for Human Resources and Planning
https://www.ithaca.edu/intercom/article.php/20200707133852483