Rhode Island College Announces Online-Focused Plan for Upcoming Year
Saturday, July 25, 2020
Rhode Island College (RIC) announced Friday that it will be "teaching, learning and working in a predominately remote environment" as it starts the academic year. Classes resume Monday, August 31.
While most classes will be offered online, select studio and laboratory courses, along with some first-year courses, may be offered in-person, with the following measures taken: students and faculty will undergo visual/verbal screening prior to entering the academic building for classroom instruction, and face coverings will be required while in the classroom, unless there is an underlying health condition or ADA accommodation in place.
Reduced On-Campus Housing
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTRIC will continue to offer on-campus housing, but at a greatly reduced capacity, as well as dining services, while limited opportunities for student-athletes to practice and compete in the fall season will be provided in accordance with NCAA health and safety protocols.
“We are deeply committed to maintaining our high-quality, high-value education, while keeping our students, faculty and staff healthy and safe this coming academic year,” says Rhode Island College President Frank D. Sánchez.
According to RIC, after conferring with health officials, the following considerations informed their decision, including, but not limited to, the following:
- Ninety-five percent of RIC students, faculty and staff commute each day, often from the most vulnerable communities that have been hardest hit by the pandemic, coupled with unknown factors that hinder effective mitigation within a commuter-campus setting.
- The recognition that a comprehensive and campus-wide testing, quarantine and isolation program would be fiscally challenging to implement and equally challenging to ensure that adequate health and safety measures.
- The resurgence of infection rates across the country.
“Finally, our decision was made with the understanding that access to and delivery of high-quality academic programs and a robust student experiences is not possible unless our campus community is healthy and well,” says Sánchez. “Our top priority is maintaining the health and safety of members of our campus community in the fulfillment of our mission.
About Rhode Island College
Rhode Island College is a regional comprehensive public college that serves approximately 8,500 undergraduate, graduate and doctoral students through its five schools: The Faculty of Arts and Sciences, the Feinstein School of Education and Human Development, the School of Business, the School of Nursing and the School of Social Work. Established in 1854, it is Rhode Island’s first public institution of higher education.
For more information, visit www.ric.edu.
