Some Yale Students Returning In Fall

New Haven’s university-dominant retail economy got some partial hopeful news Wednesday morning: Of Yale’s 6,250 undergraduate students, three out of four class years will be allowed on campus for the fall semester.

Incoming first-year students will have access to on-campus housing along with juniors and seniors, according to an announcement released Wednesday morning.

In the spring, first-year students’ spots on campus will be given to sophomores, while juniors and seniors can retain their on-campus housing.

Most classes — in both graduate and undergraduate fields — will be conducted online, with the exception of classes, such as labs, that require an in-person component.

Yale’s decision was eagerly anticipated in town, both because of it’s the city’s largest employer and because its students are a major customer base for local businesses.

Albertus Magnus College is planning to reopen to in-person classes and residency in the fall, as is University of New Haven.

Yale President Peter Salovey and Provost Scott Strobel wrote in an announcement email Wednesday that the university anticipates that 60 percent of undergraduate students will return to campus.

Many students say they will likely take the semester or year off. Some of those students may remain off campus in New Haven, while others may return home or find work elsewhere.

In June, a Yale Daily News survey found that just over half of undergraduate respondents would ​“likely or definitely” take a leave of absence in the fall if classes were to be held online. An additional 20 percent said they were ​“unsure.” (The survey represented 35 percent of rising sophomores, juniors, and seniors.)

Graduate and professional students, who mostly live in off-campus housing, will all be permitted to return to New Haven. Their classes will also mostly be online, making it possible for them to work remotely from out of the city.

Yale students generate significant business for some downtown stores and restaurants. Students who do remain in New Haven will be allowed to frequent local restaurants and businesses per university guidelines, provided that they abide by social distancing regulations, according to an FAQ page about the university’s announcement.

Yale outlined a series of measures to limit the spread of Covid among returning staff, faculty, and students.

At the start of the term, students returning to New Haven from abroad or from states experiencing a spike in Covid infections will have to quarantine for 14 days.

Throughout the semester, undergraduate students living both on and off campus in New Haven, as well as graduate and professional students living in on-campus dorms, will be required to undergo weekly Covid testing. 

Faculty and ​“student-facing staff” will need to get tested at the start of the semester. Other staff members are ​“encouraged, but not required” to be tested for Covid at that time as well, Salovey and Strobel wrote, through a free screening program available to asymptomatic individuals.

Salovey and Strobel added that Yale is banning temporary overnight visitors to campus during the fall semester. The timeline for the semester has also been adjusted so that students will leave campus for Thanksgiving break and remain off-campus for the rest of the term.

Staff, faculty, and students will also be required to undergo an online training in infection control measures. Students returning to campus must sign a ​“Yale Community Compact,” pledging to follow social distancing guidelines and other public health precautions.

For the students who do return to campus, pandemic-era precautions means that life will be different. Students will live in single dorm rooms only. Communal spaces will have limited capacity. Dining halls will be open for longer periods of time so as to limit the density of students and staff inside, and students will have the option of pre-ordering meals and taking them to-go.

Officials added that in-person events and gatherings will be held remotely whenever possible. Athletes are awaiting a July 8 announcement about their ability to compete from the Ivy League. No artistic performances will be held in person.

Around 5,000 blue-collar and office-based Yale workers are unionized under the banner of UNITE Here Locals 34 & 35.

“Our employees are ready to work,” Local 35 Chief Steward Tyisha Walker-Myers, who also serves as president of the Board of Alders, said Wednesday.

“The University has to reopen safely for students and staff,” she said. ​“The university, like everyone else, is being forced to look at operations. I think it’s important for them to work closely with the union to make sure the best plan is put together.”

Mayor Justin Elicker welcomed Yale’s decision.

“It’s positive. I know that Yale was considering doing online-only,” Elicker told the Independent. ​“It’s very positive that they’re moving toward bringing a large percentage of the student body back, and also considering options in case the situation changes.”

Elicker added that Yale’s plans to de-densify campus would help minimize the risk of spreading Covid.

“It’s quite clear that mask wearing has a very significant impact on reducing the spread of the virus,” Elicker said. ​“The fact that Yale is very proactively testing people — not just before they arrive — I think that gives much more of an ability to control any new cases.”

Read Salovey and Strobel’s statement in full here. Read a supplemental statement from Yale College Dean Marvin Chun here.

University of New Haven is ​“planning for a full return to campus operations this fall,” stated spokesperson Doug Whiting.

Student will return ​“mid- to late August and classes resuming online for a week on Aug. 24 and in-person on Aug. 31. Course delivery will be a mix of in-person, online and hybrid (online and in-person). Dates are still subject to change as we receive almost daily updates and guidance from the state. As of right now we anticipate welcoming approximately 6,800 students (4,800 undergraduate, 2,000 graduate) back to campus in August (the numbers remain in flux). Approximately 2,600 will be resident students (mostly undergraduate) and the balance either commuting from home or living in off campus apartments,” Whiting wrote in an email.

Undergraduate move-in days at Albertus Magnus’s dorms (where many students are local and don’t live on campus) are Aug. 26 – 29.

“Fall courses for the Traditional Undergraduate Program will be offered via a hybrid approach, delivering instruction through a combination of face-to-face and online methods. Albertus faculty have been pioneers in delivering blended classroom instruction, and the College’s commitment to small class sizes gives it unique advantages versus larger institutions in delivering course content to students through a variety of methods that share in common a recognition of the importance of close, faculty-student interaction and collaboration,” read a statement the university recently released.

“In the College’s Division of Professional and Graduate Studies, online and hybrid delivery methods have been the norm for nearly two decades, and Albertus’ adult learners will continue to benefit from this mode of instruction. Social distancing guidelines provided by the State of Connecticut will be followed to ensure the health and well-being of students, faculty, and staff in classroom settings, in the College’s buildings, and throughout its campuses. The unwavering commitment to the success of every Albertus student acknowledges that some students will not be able to participate in face-to-face classes, in which cases technology will be utilized to enable them to join their classmates in real time remotely.

“For the College’s Traditional Undergraduate program, face-to-face classes will continue through Friday, November 20, at which time students will return home for the Thanksgiving break. To help mitigate possible Coronavirus exposure and spread, students will then complete classes, projects, and final exams remotely for the remainder of the fall semester. Class schedules and delivery modes will remain unchanged for programs in the Division of Professional and Graduate Studies.”

Paul Bass contributed reporting.