To: The Wellesley College Community
From: President Paula A. Johnson and Provost Andy Shennan
Re: Start of Spring Semester
Date: January 11, 2021
Following on the heels of last week’s announcement outlining our continued pandemic planning, we are writing to share more information about our plans for the beginning of the spring semester.
Given ongoing disruptions to air travel and the widespread prevalence of the omicron variant, we anticipate that the process of traveling to campus and onboarding into the residence halls will be significantly more complex than in previous semesters. To reduce the impacts of cancelled flights, testing delays, and isolation protocols on student attendance and class registration during the first week of classes, we plan to start the semester with one week of remote classes from January 24 to January 28. The first day of in-person classes will be January 31.
Starting remotely will make it easier for all students to attend the first meetings of their classes and register properly, while simultaneously providing them time to get back to campus, isolate if necessary, and receive two negative individual PCR tests before entering the classroom. It will also leave time for faculty to receive at least one negative PCR test before the start of in-person instruction.
We realize that despite near-universal vaccination and boosters, many members of our community are anxious and concerned about contracting the virus on campus. As we plan for classes and campus life for the upcoming semester, we take these concerns seriously. Omicron, which currently makes up the vast majority of cases in Massachusetts, is more transmissible than delta but far less virulent. Given these characteristics, we know that continuing a multi-layered approach is essential and effective.
To reduce the rate of infection, returning students have been asked to isolate and test at home before traveling to Wellesley, which will help limit the number of positive cases upon arrival to campus. In addition, we have reserved isolation space at two local hotels to accommodate those who test positive after arriving on campus. We are making other changes to our health and safety protocols for the first two weeks of the semester, such as limiting student gatherings and requiring masks in all indoor campus spaces, which we will discuss later today at a webinar for students.
As the second anniversary of this pandemic approaches, there is a sense of frustration and exhaustion. After 22 months of improvising our way through continually shifting challenges, the challenges we face have shifted yet again. It is important to remember that in spite of the ongoing challenges, we are in a far better place today in terms of health and safety than we were a year ago.
This is also a moment to remind ourselves of the extraordinary resilience and adaptability that we have shown as a community. Again and again, we have learned new things and done things that we never thought we would (or could) do. Again and again we have pulled together to keep our community safe and, at the same time, ensure that the excellence of our students’ education is undiminished. We have no doubt that the same spirit will carry us through the semester ahead.
We greatly appreciate our community’s understanding and flexibility as we work to ensure a safe start to the semester.
