SYRACUSE, N.Y.(NCC News)- Three area colleges have recently released their plans for the fall semester, and all three plan for almost exclusively in-person instruction. Onondaga Community College, LeMoyne College, and Syracuse University are all expecting life on campus to look close to what can be defined as “normal,” if vaccination trends continue the way they are currently.
“We are hopeful that the fall semester will mark a return to the Le Moyne we know and love,” said LeMoyne College President Linda LeMura. In a press release, LeMoyne College added that they would follow any COVID-related mandates that would still be in place at that time, but will aim to mainly be in-person.
The decisions were made with students in mind. Schools like OCC facilitated focus groups to gage interest. “We thought we knew people really want to be in person, but doing these focus groups really solidified in our minds that we need to be in person,” said Roger Mirabito, the Executive Director of Communications at OCC. “We need to put everyone in the best situation to succeed.”
Syracuse University announced that they too plan to be fully in-person in the fall. In the past few weeks, the university has encouraged students to get vaccinated if eligible. With Governor Cuomo’s recent announcement that all New York State residents above the age of 16 would be eligible to receive the vaccine starting April 6th, virtually all college students in the area are now able to be vaccinated. Today, SU sent an email alerting students that they expect the University to begin receiving supply of the vaccine.
Syracuse University, LeMoyne College, and Onondaga Community College have not indicated that they will be requiring students to be vaccinated to return to campus in the fall at this time. Being a SUNY school, a decision like that for OCC could come from Albany, Mirabito said.
For the past year, all of these institutions have been forced to hold many classes online. While students were still able to learn this way, Mirabito believes being in-person gives students the best academic experience. Being online, however, has had some positives. “I think if you were going to come here and talk to faculty members or professors, they would tell you they were better today than they were a year ago, because of how they were forced to adapt, and how it made them better instructors,” Mirabito said.
