Coronavirus In RI: Bryant Plans For Students To Return To Campus

SMITHFIELD, RI — Bryant University is planning to have students back on campus to begin the fall semester as part of what was described as a "new normal" on Thursday.

While the school said changes to typical campus life are likely amid the coronavirus health emergency, the desire is to return to a residential experience where there is confidence that it is safe for students and other members of the school community.

"We can affirm our intent to deliver the 2020 fall term on campus," Bryant said in a joint statement from school president Ronald K. Machtley and incoming president Ross Gittell. "The transformational Bryant experience, which provides student learning outcomes and employment success rates among the very best in the country, is based on a 24/7 learning environment. It is on our pristine campus that students thrive the most, hone skills and build credentials that distinguish them long into the future, and forge powerful connections that will last a lifetime."

School officials said the decision to plan for a return to campus was made after Gov. Gina Raimondo's unveiling on Monday of a phased reopening of the state’s economy, and gradual loosening of social gathering limits, starting with her intent to hopefully lift the stay-at-home order when it expires on May 8.

Bryant closed its campus on March 10 and transitioned to online classes for the remainder of the spring semester, which ends this week.

"We were able to re-imagine and continue the signature Bryant experience in a new virtual environment," the statement said. "Our dedicated faculty devoted their spring break to working with Bryant’s IT team and other staff to convert their on-campus courses to remote online learning, administrative offices never skipped a beat with staff working from home, and we used innovation and ingenuity to develop virtual events that brought the Bryant family together. We learned new skills that will prepare us for the rapidly changing world in which we now live and have been enormously proud of the way everyone has adapted to the many challenges COVID-19 has presented.

"While the experience has not been the same as being on our beautiful campus," it continued, "it has been a teachable moment to develop new approaches and brought us together in news ways. As we end our spring term classes on May 1, our focus turns increasingly to planning for the fall semester."

The statement cited the school's secure campus and its small classrooms as advantages it has in holding in-person learning and classes in accordance to whatever social distancing and social gathering limits may exist in the state at the start of the fall semester.

"We are already developing the policies and procedures that must be in place for this safe reopening and we will share details on these in the weeks and months ahead," school officials said.

"We look forward to welcoming you back to campus as soon as possible," the statement concluded. "When you arrive, be assured that your friends and colleagues will be eager to greet you, and that the landscape will be lush and will provide a perfect setting our continued success."

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