SUNY Cortland will have remote instruction for the remainder of the fall semester. 

SUNY Cortland President Erik J. Bitterbaum announced Nov. 1 that in-person classes will not resume this semester after the university stopped in-person classes Oct. 5 because of a rise in COVID-19 cases on campus. The university originally planned to resume in-person instruction Oct. 21 and then extended the remote period to Nov. 3. 

The campus had 154 positive COVID-19 cases between Sept. 26 and Oct. 9, a number that led to the transition to remote instruction. Gov. Andrew Cuomo is requiring that New York state colleges transition to remote learning for two weeks if they reach 100 positive cases or 5% of the student population within a 14-day period. The rate of positive cases at SUNY Cortland has decreased since beginning remote instruction with a rolling two-week rate of 2.48% as of Nov. 3.

Students will have the option to depart from campus before the end of the semester. The campus will remain open until the original move–out dates of Nov. 20–23 for students who choose to stay on campus.

Students will have to get a COVID-19 test before leaving the campus. Students who test negative can leave within five days of taking the test and within two days of receiving negative results. Students who test positive can leave after 10 days of isolation. 

On-campus testing is available for Ithaca College students and employees from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. every Tuesday and Wednesday at the Athletics and Events Center. Students who are experiencing symptoms should call the Hammond Health Center at 607-274-3177. Faculty and staff who are symptomatic are not allowed on campus and should go to the sampling site at The Shops at Ithaca Mall.