Ithaca College reinforced its decision to not allow students from states on New York’s travel advisory list to return to campus for the 2020–21 academic year.
La Jerne Cornish, provost and senior vice president for academic affairs, and Rosanna Ferro, vice president for Student Affairs and Campus Life, provided an update about the college’s decision to prohibit students from restricted states to return to campus in an email to the college community Aug. 7. The email also included a way for students to inform the college of their intentions for Fall 2020 and provided updates on billing and move-in.
The college announced that students from restricted states who have not stayed in New York over the summer will not be allowed to return to campus and will have to attend classes remotely until their state has been removed from the list July 17.
The states and territories on the list currently include Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.
People from these states must quarantine for 14 days before entering New York state. The college previously announced that students from these states were banned from moving out of their on-campus residence halls and had to have their belongings shipped to them or stored in the college’s warehouse.
At the All-Student Gathering on July 25, President Shirley M. Collado said that the college had received messages from students from states on the travel advisory list and that the college was working to figure out the best way for the students to receive an education.
In the Aug. 7 email, Cornish and Ferro said that the college had reviewed all its options for students from restricted states to return to campus while maintaining the health and safety of the college and Ithaca communities. The college is unable to provide students the option to quarantine on campus before the beginning of the fall semester and will not be amending its previous decision, the email stated.
However, students from the restricted states who have remained in an unrestricted state over the summer and have documentation can request an exception by emailing [email protected].
International students will receive information about the return to campus soon, the email stated.
Students can inform the college if they plan to return to campus or take part in virtual learning by filling out the Fall On-Campus or Fully Remote Learning Declaration Form by 5 p.m. Aug. 12 to confirm their plans for Fall 2020.
This form will allow the college to process billing for students, the email stated. If a student’s state is added to the restricted states list, they will be able to update their declaration form.
Initial bills for Fall 2020 will only include tuition charges and will be posted to student accounts Aug. 17, the email stated. Room and board will be discounted due to the phased move-in and students will receive an updated bill once their move-in date has been confirmed.
The college previously stated that all students will receive an email Aug. 10 that will provide information about their move-in date. The date has been pushed back until the week of Aug. 17 for the college to process the information it will receive from the declaration form. The email stated that this will allow for students who are returning to campus to move into their preferred housing before students begin to sign up for move-in dates.
