Local SUNY Colleges prepare for new semester
ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS 10)-- With the new year, comes a new semester— but with COVID-19 still a threat, SUNY schools are continuing to implement safety protocols that students and staff must follow.
"Students who come on campus must take a surveillance test, COVID-19 surveillance test," explained Dr. Stead Moono, SUNY Schenectady President.
To help limit the spread of the virus, everyone on SUNY Schenectady's campus is being mandated to wear masks and to social distance. While some in-person classes will be held, most teaching will be done online.
The college now partnering with the Schenectady County Department of Health and is serving as a vaccination site for those who are eligible in the 1A and 1B categories.
"We vaccinated over 100 people and that’s going to continue through Friday," Dr. Moono.
While SUNY Cobleskill at this point is not a vaccination site, the college's president told News 10, that if the college is asked to help, it certainly will.
"We have the capacity and the space to do so, we even have the freezers, so when the department of health needs us, we will answer the call," explained Marion Terenzio, President of SUNY Cobleskill.
Just like at SUNY Schenectady, her students will be asked to wear masks, social distance, and will be tested for COVID-19.
"The students have to come back with a negative test 3 days before their arrival, but what else we are adding-- because we really want them back, is that if they couldn’t get a test, we will test them here," said Terenzio. "They will all go into their rooms, get settled in like they did last time. We are going to do remote for the first week because we are staging the students coming back in, getting the faculty geared up again, so the in-person will start on February 8th."
Since last semester was a success, 40 percent SUNY Cobleskill's courses will be offered in person. Both college presidents said they are impressed with the resilience they have seen amongst their students and faculty during this pandemic.