Student COVID-19 Update

Hello Bradley Family,

We hope you are enjoying the gorgeous spring weather and continuing to stay safe and healthy. Bradley remains committed to having you back on campus for the fall semester, while keeping the health and safety of the entire Bradley family as our top priority. There are many moving parts to this process and it’s constantly evolving. Thank you for your patience as we navigate these uncharted waters. 

Changes to Academic Timing 

We have made the decision to cancel our traditional fall break and hold classes on those days instead. In addition, students will not return to campus after Thanksgiving. These decisions will reduce some of the risk factors associated with traveling during these times. We are still working through the academic calendar and determining whether we will resume classes online after Thanksgiving or if we will accelerate the semester (including some Saturday classes) to finish classes at Thanksgiving. These recommendations will be provided by the Return to Class team.

Masks

Per CDC recommendations, masks should be worn by students, visitors, faculty and staff on campus. The university will provide each student and employee with one Bradley branded mask or you can wear your own. You will be asked to wear a mask while on campus and in public settings where other physical distancing measures are difficult to maintain. 

Fall Planning 

Teams are visiting classrooms to determine how each should be set in order to preserve physical distancing. This includes measuring the space to ensure there’s a 6-foot distance maintained and establishing the number of seats available. We are also identifying other spaces that may be used for learning. Space challenges are one of the reasons we must consider hybrid-style learning and the Online Learning team will launch faculty training shortly.

There are numerous considerations and discussions taking place. At the top of the list are antigen testing and contact tracing. Both of these will be key pieces in our return to campus. Other early decision points will be residence hall occupancy and building cleaning routines.

Orientation

More than 845 students (and growing) are signed up to attend one of the 19 single-day orientation sessions in July and August. Some of the event’s components will either move online or into Welcome Week. The Return to Student Life team is actively working on move-in, welcome week, dining, student activities and other important engagement pieces across campus.

Thank You President Roberts

As June 1 marks his last day before retirement, we want to thank President Gary Roberts again for his dedication to his alma mater over the last four-plus years. His leadership through this transition has been appreciated and we wish him and Donna many joys in retirement.

–Sent to all students on 5/29/20