Maintaining a Safe & Healthy Campus for First Week of Classes
The Fall 2020 semester got off to a successful start today with approximately 6,195 students enrolled for the first day of classes. Final enrollment figures will be available later in September.
First Week of Classes & Move-in
Freshman students began with virtual instruction for the first week to allow for unified orientation into all their courses before shifting to hybrid in-person classes after Labor Day. About one-third of the freshman class opted for all-virtual instruction. Returning students are taking all of their courses online.
A number of returning students continue to complete the residential move-in. That process requires on-site testing after students have submitted a negative COVID-19 result of a test taken 10-14 days prior to arriving on campus. The duplicate testing helps the university more effectively mitigate the opportunity for COVID-19 to be introduced into the campus community undetected.
New COVID-19 Testing Dashboard
COVID-19 testing conducted by the Wellness Center last week resulted in 11 positive cases, which are reported on our COVID-19 Testing Dashboard. In accordance with our standard procedures, all persons with positive tests were notified, quarantined and referred to Prince George’s County Health Department for contact tracing. With an abundance of respect for individual privacy and HIPPA laws regarding health information, we will not provide any details regarding individual cases. As a campus community, we can best support these individuals by not trying to determine the identities of the affected people.
Safety Precautions & Ongoing On-campus Testing
We know that COVID-19 exists all around us and does not discriminate in whom it touches. Our best defense is to carefully adhere to the guidance of wearing face masks, washing our hands and staying 6 feet apart.
The university will continue a rigorous testing strategy for on-campus populations throughout the semester. After Labor Day, all residential students will be tested Sept. 8 – 11. Testing for employees will be available Sept. 14 – 18.
Thank you for your diligence in keeping yourselves and others safe by adhering to the COVID-19 safety precautions. If you have any questions, contact covid19@bowiestate.edu.