Quinnipiac University President Judy Olian and Interim Executive Vice President and Provost Jennifer Brown have made the announcement that there will be in-classroom instruction and an on-campus residential experience this fall.

The Quinnipiac community will experience some changes to the 2020-2021 school year due to COVID-19, but students are expected to return to campus for the fall semester.

“We cannot wait to welcome you this fall and continue that journey together,” Olian and Brown said.

Unless changes become necessary due to evolving health warnings with the state of Connecticut and CDC requirements, starting Aug. 10-23 students can move their belongings onto campus with an “early drop-off” option. This is recommended for students who live within driving distance of Quinnipiac University.

According to the announcement, this will be a “same-day, in-and-out drop-off without an overnight stay.” Students will have to sign up for this option in advance and should be helpful with reducing and spacing out the time and traffic involved with move-in later in August while supporting necessary social distancing.

On Aug. 24, 2020, students will begin to live in the residence halls, with move-in scheduled to stagger students’ arrivals. Once all students have moved into their residence halls, they will begin taking classes online. 

During this time, the school will be testing all students for COVID-19, which is a state requirement. There will be more details about this process in the coming months. 

Labor Day will be the first day of on-ground classes for students, assuming all COVID-19 testing is done. According to the announcement, “Further details will be provided in the coming weeks explaining how testing will be conducted and how students will alternate between in-class and online attendance in order to manage social distancing requirements.”

On Nov. 24, on-ground classes will end, beginning the start of Thanksgiving break. Students will not return to campus after this break. Fall classes, finals, review sessions, office hours, and final exams will be completed online.

Quinnipiac is proactively reducing the price of room and board by two weeks, since students will not be returning after Thanksgiving break.

With online delivery of classes extending, Quinnipiac has been working with faculty this summer to “[provide] a dynamic and engaging learning experience, with flexibility,” and have developed new course structures and e-learning tools with teaching experts to “boost the potential of mixed delivery modes.”

More details are expected to be released throughout summer as the school continues to utilize their COVID-19 task force committees to plan for the fall semester and return of students.