Iona College Moves Up Start Of Classes

NEW ROCHELLE, NY — As New York and the rest of the world continues to deal with the new coronavirus health crisis, Iona College announced it is moving up the beginning of its fall semester. In a letter to the school from college President Seamus Carey, posted on its website, the college said the fall semester will start August 10 and end Nov. 23.

That way, officials said, students will not return to campus after the Thanksgiving break in order to minimize student travel and exposure during the fall semester.

The school said that, if in-person classes are delayed or canceled by the state, the starting date of the academic calendar will be re-evaluated.

Additional changes include:

• Except for courses designed to be taken only online, all courses can be taken either online, in person or through a combination of both.
• Before starting classes, students, faculty and staff will be required to be tested for the new coronavirus.
• Symptoms related to COVID-19 will be monitored.
• Masks will be required in all classes and wherever adequate social distancing cannot be maintained.
• Spacing in classrooms and dining halls will be increased by 50 percent.
• Occupancy in residence halls will be reduced to a maximum of two students per room and social distancing will be required in common spaces.
• Remote work will continue for staff who can perform their roles from home.

Carey said that the college knew that the coming year would test everyone.

"As educators, our responsibility is to work for a better future. If we continue to be our best; if we work with each other and for our students; if we are guided by the ideals that infuse our endeavors and lives with meaning – the ideals of seeking truth, working for justice, caring with compassion – the challenges we face will only make us better," he said.

Like Hudson Valley Patches' Facebook Pages.