In a statement sent to the campus community, President Barry M. Maloney announced his intention to pursue a return to in-person learning, with percentages as close as possible to what Worcester State offered in the fall of 2019.
Worcester State, like many colleges around the commonwealth, shifted to blended and remote learning modalities due to the pandemic. However, with President Joe Biden’s announcement on March 13 that all Americans should have access to COVID-19 vaccines by summer, and that enough of us should be vaccinated by July 4 to allow for safe celebration of the holiday, Maloney believes a fall resumption of in-person classes is a move in the right direction.
“I have pledged to couple the return to a full-campus experience—in our residence halls and our classrooms—with a continued surveillance testing program, even if new cases drop to zero, so that we can be certain the widespread vaccinations are protecting our campus. I know many of you are yearning to have the full in-person campus experience, and we aim to provide it this coming fall,” Maloney’s statement read.
“I deeply appreciate that our faculty have risen to the challenge of adapting course modalities over the past year” the statement continued, which also referenced the need and continuance to provide high-quality learning experiences remotely for students to stay on track toward graduation.
A recent Worcester State survey showed that 81 percent of the campus community want vaccines as soon as possible or have already received them, while the remainder either do not want them or have not yet made a decision. The University will hold a Campus Conversation on Friday, March 26, at 10 a.m. to discuss the COVID-19 vaccine survey results followed by a moderated panel discussion concerning the COVID-19 vaccines.
Members of the campus community will receive a separate email about participating in the moderated event.
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