Fresno State will make big changes due to COVID-19 this spring. What you need to know
Despite a surge in COVID-19 cases expected over the winter, Fresno State will ramp up its campus population for the spring semester, adding more classes and dorm-residing students, according to a letter sent out to students from President Joseph I. Castro on Monday.
The university projects about 2,595 students, faculty, and staff will be on campus daily when the first day of instruction begins on Jan. 21 — a 15% increase from the fall semester.
About 2,860 students will be enrolled in 320 in-person courses, compared to the 101 classes currently offered. The addition of in-person courses is necessary, Castro said, as some classes were postponed but “must be offered in the spring to fulfill accreditation and student-graduation requirements.”
The university plans on making a decision about commencement ceremonies by March 2021, Castro said. The university did not hold a commencement ceremony for the class of 2020.
The university will implement voluntary free weekly COVID-19 testing from now until mid-January for anyone approved to be on campus, Castro said. Voluntary monthly testing will resume in the spring, too.
About 250 students will live on campus in the spring and will be required to complete monthly testing, Castro said. About 187 students are currently in student housing. That’s a big difference from June’s projection of 560 students that would live on campus.
The administration continues to monitor health department guidelines and will shift away from in-person classes if recommended to do so, Castro said.
“If the pandemic worsens in December and January, it is possible that we will first begin these in-person courses virtually and then phase into the planned in-person courses later in the semester when it is safe to do so,” he said.
For the spring, most employees who can work from home will still continue to do so, and student assistant positions will be limited.
Daily health screenings and temperature checks will continue on weekdays and are required of anyone on campus, Castro said in the letter. He advised against large gatherings, such as parties.
“I encourage you to continue practicing health precautions to protect not only your own health but also that of your family, friends and classmates,” he said.
University-related events of more than 25 people will not be allowed unless under a limited exception, Castro said.
COVID-19 cases at Fresno State
In his letter, Castro stressed the seriousness of the coronavirus as Fresno County and the state face an uptick in cases.
“The related number of (COVID-19) hospitalizations and the subsequent morbidity and mortality is extremely worrisome,” Castro wrote in his letter.
As of Monday, 48 cases of the coronavirus have been confirmed by members of the campus population since the start of the pandemic, according to the university. In early September, it was at 21.
Fresno State basketball players are currently on a 14-day quarantine after “multiple positive cases” within the program, according to Athletic Director Terry Tumey. The Bulldogs also canceled a football game against rival San Jose State after a positive test.
Castro will leave for his new job as CSU chancellor in January, leaving in his place interim president Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval, the current provost and vice president for academic affairs.
Fall 2021 plans should be announced in April, Castro said, signing off his letter with hope.
“With the possibility of an effective and widely distributed vaccine by the summer,” he wrote, “we are hopeful that primarily in-person classes, events and activities will resume by fall 2021.”
This story was originally published November 30, 2020 at 3:20 PM.