July 1, 2020

Dear SUNY Poly Students, Faculty, and Staff,

As colleges and universities across the nation prepare to restart in a responsible manner, SUNY Poly is excited to welcome students, faculty, and staff back to campus for the fall 2020 semester. After submitting and receiving SUNY’s approval of our fall 2020 plan to restart our academic and research operations, I want to emphasize our fall 2020 plan remains flexible, allowing the institution to make adjustments to operations as needed to mitigate a resurgence of COVID-19 and its impacts, and is subject to change due to new information, guidance, and/or direction from the state. We truly look forward to seeing you, while at the same time, our plans, as laid out below, prioritize the health and wellbeing of everyone on our campuses.

SUNY Poly Fall 2020 Plan Overview

Based on significant input from a large cross-section of our SUNY Poly community, the plan focuses on providing detailed considerations in four key areas, including:

• Processes to enable repopulation of the campus, such as through maintaining and supporting social distancing, the dissemination and use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), providing new residential living requirements, and offering dual-modality instruction (in-class for a number of students, with on- and off-campus live-streaming to others), increased cleaning and disinfection, as well as guidance for vulnerable populations;
• Processes for monitoring and tracking health conditions on campus, with clear screening requirements outlined for faculty, staff, students, and visitors, in addition to guidance related to testing.
• Processes for containment, with guidance for potential quarantine, contact tracing, cleaning, disinfection, and communication in response to potential positive cases; and
• Contingency plans to transition to remote operations and ramping down campus operations should it be necessary, with details provided for operational activity, move-out, and consideration for medically isolated/quarantined individuals.

The SUNY Poly Fall 2020 plan is based on the best available information at this time and guided by New York State Interim Guidance for Higher Education and federal, state, and local agencies, as well as SUNY System Administration. The plan will evolve as the institution receives additional input from faculty, staff, students, and our host communities as well as when new guidance and/or regulations are promulgated.

Academic Calendar Update

The academic calendar is being adjusted to encourage the health and wellness of our campus community by minimizing travel opportunities at a time of the year when the virus may re-emerge:

• Monday, Aug. 24: Classes start and continue through the semester; one day fall break October 7.
• Wednesday, Nov. 25: Classes conclude and students depart for Thanksgiving break without returning to campus for the remainder of the semester.
• After Thanksgiving Break: Online and Distance Instruction followed by final exams takes place through December 10.

A hybrid, flexible instructional model will be used to abide by on-campus density limitations. Students will be scheduled for on-campus/in-classroom instruction to the greatest extent possible.

What to Expect on Campus

Students will receive additional guidance shortly, and faculty and staff will receive communications in the coming days, regarding return to work policies to protect our community while allowing our students, faculty, and staff to pursue their academic and research endeavors. We plan to continue the strategies to prioritize the health of everyone onsite, including:

• Abiding by “social distancing” rules and wearing a face covering while on campus;
• Encouraging personal hygiene practices, such as following handwashing guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 
• Minimizing events and limiting room/area occupancy in accordance with signage deployed across SUNY Poly’s campuses; and
• Increasing cleaning and disinfection frequency of highly-touched areas.

Additional Expectations

• New procedures will be employed by dining services at SUNY Poly’s Utica campus, including contactless/cashless payments, distance seating, food pick-up as the new normal, and greater flexibility allowing for delivery options.
• Non-essential visitors will be discouraged from accessing the campus to enter buildings and meet or interact with students; visitors are not allowed in residence halls.
• Students at SUNY Poly’s Albany Campus utilizing University at Albany services will follow UA’s guidelines for reopening. More information can be found at https://www.albany.edu/covid-19.
• The fall semester athletics schedule is still to be determined based on NCAA, state, and local government guidelines.

Stay Up-to-Date

We ask you read the full plan here: https://sunypoly.edu/fall2020plan to learn more regarding student housing (for both Utica and Albany students), research operations, classroom population and technology considerations, custodial services, and dining services, among other areas.

We will continue to provide timely updates and the plan itself will be updated as needed on the webpage. Please continue to monitor your e-mail inbox for such updates, which will also be shared across other communications channels, such as social media, as appropriate. Related, helpful links to resources will also be provided. If, after reading the entire plan, you have a question, please email fall2020plan@sunypoly.edu.

As we look to the fall 2020 semester, I appreciate your continued understanding and patience. In the meantime, I hope you have a safe and enjoyable summer.

Sincerely,

Dr. Grace Wang
Interim President
SUNY Polytechnic Institute