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State colleges share reopening plans

By Jim Sabataso
Staff Writer
The presidents of Vermont’s four state colleges shared their fall semester reopening plans with the Vermont State College System’s board of trustees Monday, saying they are up for the challenge even as one school already is dealing with its first positive case.

During the informational meeting, which was held on Zoom, Patricia Moulton, president of Vermont Technical College revealed that a student at its Randolph campus tested positive on Friday. She said the student is asymptomatic and currently in isolation, as are several other students who were living on the same floor.

“We learned a couple of things … but we’re overall very pleased that we were prepared,” she said.

Speaking to the overall plans for reopening VSCS schools Jonathan Spiro, interim president of Castleton University, commended his fellow presidents.

“I want the board to know that these four institutions have engaged in extensive collaboration … on a daily basis seven days a week since about the middle of May,” he said.

Spiro said that collaborative spirit found common ground in the state’s health and safety guidelines as well as a number of protocols shared by all schools.

For example, the VSCS schedule has been accelerated so students can leave campus for the semester at Thanksgiving break and complete final exams remotely after that.

All students arriving on campus this month have been required to observe state travel quarantine guidelines based on where they are traveling from and how they getting to Vermont.

Upon arrival, students also will be tested and assigned single-occupancy dorm rooms for the duration of the semester.

All campuses will have designated isolation spaces for any students who test positive and need to quarantine onsite.

And while VSCS students are free to leave campus – after quarantining, they are subject to the same travel guidelines as all Vermont residents – campus visitors are not allowed.

While Spiro acknowledged everyone’s hard work and preparation, he offered a dose of reality.

“I think everyone on this call should be prepared for positive cases,” he said, adding that a positive test means the system is working. “We can now isolate them, contact trace and so forth.”

With broad plans in place, the presidents went on to describe each school’s unique approach.

Spiro acknowledged that the diverse nature of each school necessitated different plans of attack.

“A drive-through fast-food restaurant is not the same as an indoor furniture store,” he said.

Castleton University, which reopened today, is going almost entirely remote. But while the classroom may be empty, Spiro said approximately 350 students have opted to return to campus to get a residential experience.

Like CU, students at Northern Vermont University’s two campuses in Johnson and Lyndon returned to campus this weekend. Depending on the course, classes will be delivered face-to-face, online or a hybrid of both.

President Elaine Collins said about 300 students will be at each campus this fall.

“…(T)hus far with all the students that have taken the test, as well as some of our staff and faculty, all of our tests have been negative,” she said.

The Community College of Vermont, which has a dozen campuses across the state, will deliver almost all of its classes remotely. According to President Joyce Judy, of the school’s 700 classes offered, only 25 will have an in-person component.

She said all school buildings will be closed to the public for the fall semester. Faculty and students needing to access a building must make an appointment.

Despite all the uncertainty this year, Judy said, “enrollment is incredibly strong.”

She also informed the board that the school will need to make a decision on what to do for the spring semester in the next several weeks.

“We are leaning towards doing spring just as we did fall,” she said.

Moulton said VTC, which has campuses in Randolph and Williston, is relying on a hybrid model to accommodate for the school’s many classes that require students to be physically present.

“It’s tough to learn to be a nurse and not actually give someone an injection,” she said.

Students will come to campuses on staggered weeks throughout the semester to complete labs or any in-person work, and may stay in residence halls as needed. Students may also stay on campus all semester if their particular situation deems it necessary.

Moulton said there will be about 100 students on campus in Randolph and 28 in Williston.

Toward the end of the meeting, VSCS board member David Silverman asked how local communities have been responding to students returning to their various campuses.

Spiro said it’s “split right down the middle” in Castleton.

Collins said it’s been similarly split in Johnson and Lyndon.

“That said, I have not had any messages in my box that’s from the community that suggest that they are not happy about how we are proceeding,” she said.

Moulton said the biggest community concern she has had conveyed to her from the town manager in Randolph was an eagerness for students to return to give a boost to the local economy.

Judy said she has not had “any pushback from the public” at CCV.

National news reports of college students around the country socializing in large numbers has put Vermonters on edge as college students return to the state.

In Burlington, the city council has called on University of Vermont administrators to provide more details about the school’s reopening plan to the community.

Gov. Phil Scott is also paying attention. At his daily press conference Friday, the governor expressed openness to the idea of allowing towns to impose curfews on bars and clubs and limiting the hours to sell alcohol.

“… I believe giving our towns, especially the college towns, some additional mitigation measures to work with is the right thing to do,” he said.

For its part, VSCS administrators are requiring all students and school staff sign a pledge that affirms they will adhere to the guidelines laid out by the schools. The presidents agreed there would be consequences for those who break the pledge.

“We fully intend to make an example of the first few to set the tone,” Moulton said, adding that employees would be held similarly accountable. “We feel it’s important to make that statement upfront that we’re not kidding.”

Spiro agreed. “Given that the whole world is watching, you might be able to guess on which side of the pendulum we intend land regarding leniency versus severity,” he said.

Sophie Zdatny, VSCS chancellor acknowledged the pushback happening around the country to reopening colleges, but said she supported the presidents who opted to bring students back to campus.

“There are disadvantages to not bringing students back,” she said, citing a sensitivity to student inequities such as housing and mental health challenges, as well as access to broadband internet. “I think it’s important that we have the ability to bring students back that need to be on the campuses in order to learn.”

jim.sabataso @rutlandherald.com

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