Message from the President - Institutional Update: NJ Restart Plan and Travel Advisories
Dear Berkeley Community,
Berkeley College recently submitted its “Restart Plan” to the State of New Jersey. This plan details Berkeley’s extensive efforts to reopen our New Jersey campuses in preparation for the Fall 2020 semester. A copy of the plan can be found at www.berkeleycollege.edu/coronavirus under “Berkeley College Restart Plan – New Jersey Campuses.” We expect to submit reopening plans for the New York City and White Plains campuses to New York State by next week. Thank you to the members of the Coronavirus Task Force for their continued diligence in this extraordinary undertaking.
As we prepare for the return of students, faculty, and staff on our campuses, it is important to note that both New York and New Jersey have issued travel advisories for individuals traveling to New York or New Jersey from states with increasing rates of COVID-19. These advisories mandate a 14-day self-isolation upon return from a growing list of U.S. states and territories. As you make travel plans in August and thereafter, please monitor the impacted states through the below links and follow the appropriate guidance:
New York: https://coronavirus.health.ny.gov/covid-19-travel-advisory
New Jersey: https://covid19.nj.gov/forms/njtravel
Beginning on Monday, August 3, 2020, please document through the Berkeley College Travel Registry any of your international and/or domestic (outside of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania) travel plans: https://bit.ly/3gktCnX. The registry is part of the College’s effort to provide support to those who may be traveling. Registry information is considered confidential and may be used to contact you in case of an emergency.
Additionally, all faculty, staff and students must complete a mandatory training course that will review the new policies and safety protocols that have been established as part of Berkeley’s reopening plans. Human Resources and Student Development and Campus Life will be distributing more information about this training course in early August.
In our reopening plans, students are not expected to return to Berkeley campuses until the start of the semester (except for those included under Berkeley’s previously approved waiver at the Woodland Park campus). Hybrid courses will be completely virtual during the first week of the semester. Student support services will be available at each campus as delineated on department-level plans. Staff should continue to work from home for as long as feasible until the semester begins, unless otherwise directed by your supervisor.
While it will be exciting to have students back on campus in September, we each need to do our part to follow the federal, state, and local public health guidelines. I look forward to finishing this semester in a strong position as we prepare for the next chapter in Berkeley’s nearly 90-year history.
Michael J. Smith
President of Berkeley College
