Return to Campus

Iona College Welcomed Students Back to Campus with Rigorous Testing, Health Monitoring and Safety Protocols in Place

As the COVID-19 pandemic quickly spread throughout Westchester County and New York State, Iona College was one of the first institutions of higher learning to take swift and decisive action to protect its students, faculty and staff.

In March 2020, when the first cases were identified in New Rochelle, N.Y., Iona made the decision to accelerate its spring break to send its students home early, began ramping up for online learning for its spring semester, and formed a task force that met daily to stay abreast of the rapidly evolving healthcare crisis.

Over the next months as the number of COVID cases peaked and then dropped, the task force developed a “Return to Campus” plan informed by New York State public health guidelines. With this comprehensive plan in place, Iona was one of the first colleges in the country to welcome students back to campus for in-person learning for the fall semester.

The Return to Campus Plan details new safety policies, testing and monitoring procedures, student and staff support services and more to support a healthy and successful semester. In addition to circulating the Return to Campus Plan to its entire community, Iona hosted a series of webinars for current and prospective students and parents detailing what to expect in the fall semester, and developed a Gael Care app on which students, faculty and staff would conduct a daily symptom check.

Some of the many ways Iona has worked to keep the community safe include:

• Every member of the Iona community was required to be tested for COVID-19 within 14 days of returning to campus. Free testing is offered through Montefiore Hospital in New Rochelle.
• Random testing takes place throughout the semester; students were expected to be tested at least three times.
• Students were permitted to choose either in-person or remote learning for the semester.
• Fall semester ends before Thanksgiving break to minimize student travel and exposure.
• All classrooms are outfitted to support students attending in-person or online: classroom seating is spaced for social distancing; professors teach behind plexiglass shields; instruction is live streamed for those learning online.
• Occupancy in residence halls is a maximum of two students per room and capacity has been reduced throughout the campus.
• Face masks are required at all times on campus.

Courthney Normil ’22 explained how the app is used. “You basically answer seven questions about how you are feeling, what your temperature is, if you are experiencing any of the typical COVID symptoms, and whether or not you were around people who might have had it. Then you get a QR code. Green means you are clear. You show it to your professor before you head into class.”

“If a student shows a symptom, according to the Gael Care app, they are not allowed onto campus,” Director of Communications Diana Costello said. “They’ll be asked to stay home and potentially to quarantine if there is a need to.”

Students were also encouraged to sign a pledge, committing to upholding all the College’s policies, procedures and reopening plans and to holding themselves and others accountable.

“‘Gaels Take Care of Gaels.’ That’s a slogan that we actually live by. We don’t just say it.”

President Seamus Carey, Ph.D.