Quinnipiac Plans On Students Returning To Campus In August

HAMDEN, CT — Quinnipiac University plans on having students back on campus and in classrooms for the fall semester, officials announced Tuesday. Officials said that, subject to ongoing guidance from state and public health officials, they are planning in-classroom instruction and an “on-campus residential experience” starting in August.

Quinnipiac’s plan includes a mix of in-classroom and online classes, an early drop-off option for nearby students and all students being tested for the coronavirus.

“As part of our plan, we will be implementing slight modifications to our academic calendar for the Fall 2020 semester and will be using parallel delivery of both in-classroom and online classes,” officials wrote in a message to the Quinnipiac community. “Our ‘Q-Flex’ approach – delivering the same course using in-person and online instruction simultaneously – will enable us to continue offering the high-quality academic learning experiences for which QU is known, while maintaining careful health protections and physical distancing throughout our university community. We also know from research that this mixed delivery model of instruction can have very powerful learning results.”

Quinnipiac announced its fall semester schedule Tuesday, pending any changes that are necessitated by the state or changing health conditions, officials said. Students will begin moving into residence halls on a staggered basis with students encouraged to drop off their belongings from Aug. 10 to Aug. 23.

Classes are scheduled to begin Aug. 24 for all students. Online instruction will be used for the “first week or two to support this staggered schedule and for the administration of state-required COVID testing of all students upon their return,” according to officials.

Classes will be held on Labor Day, Sept. 7, at which point all students will be participating in in-class instruction, if not sooner, “assuming that testing has been completed for all remaining students,” officials said.

Students are scheduled to leave campus for Thanksgiving break Nov. 24 and will finish the last two weeks of the semester online. Quinnipiac is planning on reducing every student’s room and board cost by two weeks since they will be on-campus for a shorter time.

“Our faculty and staff have been preparing for the mixed delivery of instruction in order to accommodate students’ safe return this fall,” officials said. “Teaching and student activities are being planned accordingly, coupled with changes to our classrooms and facilities to manage density and meet physical distancing best practices. We intend to deliver each course both in-person and online throughout the fall term, with students alternating their mode of attendance. This will reduce density in the classrooms while still providing a dynamic and engaging learning experience, with flexibility in case we need it. Our faculty are working intensively this summer with pedagogical experts to restructure their courses, incorporate even more innovative learning tools and strategies in their courses, and boost the potential of mixed-delivery modes.”

Officials said the announced fall schedule “reflects best practices and current scientific understanding of the virus so that we can maximize three key elements at QU: the quality of our teaching in mixed modalities, the richness of our students’ campus experience, and the safety of our entire community as we carefully implement safe practices in the face of COVID-19.”