WILLIAMSBURG, Va. — On Wednesday, classes started for undergraduates, Graduate Arts & Sciences, VIMS, and School of Education students at William & Mary.
Freshman, transfer, international and graduate students will be the only students in on-campus housing until after Labor Day. Student leaders, RAs, and OAs began arriving over the weekend, but the bulk of those students started arriving last Wednesday.
Move-in will be a phased process this year. Freshmen move-in, for instance, is being spread over three days and students are required to have a move-in time they pre-registered for.
All classes are beginning remotely. A couple of first-year courses (COLL 100 and COLL 150) were given permission to start in-person following health and safety guidelines.
Like at most schools, there are several changes and new requirements.
Students have to self-quarantine for eight days before coming to Williamsburg. They also have to test negative for COVID-19 before returning to the city.
During the semester, five percent of the student body and two percent of the faculty will be randomly selected for prevalence testing every two weeks.
On-campus students who test positive during the semester will be quarantined in single room settings. Off-campus students who test positive can quarantine at their residence or return home.
Faculty who test positive will be required to isolate at home until they are symptom-free and test negative. Testing will be available to all students and faculty at any time.
The campus gave students kits with masks, sanitizer, and wipes. The entire W&M family (students and faculty) will be required to sign a “Community Commitment” that establishes normal practices for behaviors designed to minimize the continued spread of COVID-19.
This Commitment will be applied to time spent on and off-campus, and all will be held accountable to its tenants.
Roommates are encouraged to talk about room expectations with each other. They can have one building guest; however, the roommate has to agree, and they are to remain physically distant and wear masks when they have guests.
The fall 2020 semester will include a condensed schedule that begins a week early and ends before Thanksgiving. There will be no in-person instruction until after Labor Day. There will be no fall break. William & Mary is taking a phased approach to decision-making and will continue to update the community as more information and details become available.
This is all outlined in William & Mary's "The Path Forward: Fall 2020".