West Virginia University officials said Wednesday students on its Morgantown campus will resume in-person classes Monday, Sept. 28.
After moving classes online Sept. 7 to curtail the number of COVID-19 cases at its main location, university officials said they were happy with the pause because the number of cases of the virus is trending downward.
“The data drove our decision and I am so delighted all indications are now we can safely return to in-person instruction,” President Gordon Gee said in a statement.
In Arnold Apartments, WVU’s designated space for residence hall students who have the virus, occupancy is 40%. The local hospitalization rate also includes no students.
“The student daily positive case numbers are down, including those tests conducted outside the WVU system,” said Jeffrey Coben, WVU’s associate vice president of health affairs and dean of the School of Public Health.
“Additionally, we have seen consistent declines in student quarantine and isolation cases,” he said.
The shift to virtual learning was made Sept. 7, a little more than two weeks after classes began in Morgantown, because of an increase of positive student cases, as well as concern about a potential spike in cases following reports during the Labor Day weekend of parties attended by people who should have been in quarantine.
University officials have moved quickly to discipline students who broke its COVID-19 safety protocols. According to the latest information from the Office of Student Conduct:
- About 120 students have received, or will receive COVID-19 sanctions, up to and including probation.
- Twenty-four students have been suspended and 30 students have been placed on interim suspension pending hearings.
- Three students have been placed on deferred suspension and three students’ sanctions were reduced to probation after their hearings.
- Fourteen students are awaiting possible hearings.
“Every decision we have made has been focused on the health and the safety of our faculty, staff and students,” Gee said. “We were able to flatten our numbers and move forward with the semester. However, we are still in the midst of a serious pandemic and must adhere to the safety guidelines in place.”
WVU officials said the same volume of in-person classes will be held in Morgantown when the semester began Aug. 26. Students are to resume their normal schedules on Monday, Sept. 28.
The university also said it will continue to test students who show signs of COVID-19, as well as those who are at higher risk of exposure. More details will be released Thursday, Sept. 24 at a 10 a.m. Return to Campus virtual conversations. Participants will include Coben, as well as Provost Maryanne Reed and Dean of Students Corey Farris.
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