Purchase College Plans for Spring 2021, and the Remainder of Fall 2020

by Jordan Gibberman

The Purchase College administration holding a virtual town hall via Zoom Webinar. (Image via Gibberman)

Students and family members have now been given information regarding plans for the end of the Fall 2020 semester, as well as the beginning of the Spring 2021 semester.

“It’s important to know what we’ve learned so far,” said Barry Pearson, the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs. “We realize that students, faculty and staff are under a tremendous amount of stress.”

To increase the engagement and hopefully reduce some of the stress, there will be surveys and polls for students to fill out. The purpose of this is to provide feedback to the staff about what they feel should be handled immediately.

The fall semester will end as scheduled, on Dec. 18. However, the in-person portion of the semester will end on Nov. 24.

As for the spring semester, the plan is to have a low density on campus. Primarily, students who need to have face-to-face instruction in order to complete their major will be allowed on campus. Some courses will try to combine remote and in-person learning.

Students coming from states on the N.Y. travel advisory list will move into campus Saturday, Jan. 22 and begin their quarantine period.

Remote classes will begin for everyone on Feb. 1. In-person courses will begin Feb. 15 and students can move in on Feb. 6 and 7, by appointment in order to ensure that it’s safe and social distancing measures are followed.

The spring semester will end May 19 and there will be some form of commencement on May 21, if all goes well.

“The state of the pandemic is still unchanged,” said Gregory Taylor, the Associate Provost for Academic Affairs. “Our utmost priorities are keeping our community safe and to ensure that students remain on track in their studies.”

Before Thanksgiving break, there will be exit COVID-19 testing to ensure safe traveling for the students. All students will be required to have a negative test result prior to leaving campus. The dates for testing will be from Nov. 16-18.

For dining, things will relatively remain the same, but with a few changes. The Hub will be open for the spring, replacing services currently provided by Terre Ve. The meal plan prices will remain the same.

A change for the spring semester is that there will be three break days scattered throughout the semester instead of the usual spring break.

Currently, they are working on having athletics for the spring is and working with SUNY to offer sports safely.

“We recognize the stress and challenges brought to our community,” said Milagros Peña, the president of Purchase. “We’re being mindful and attentive as much as we can, and I’m grateful to see that everyone supports one another.”