Information regarding coronavirus

Wheaton College officials are closely monitoring the ongoing developments regarding the coronavirus (COVID-19), following the guidance and recommendations provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Massachusetts Department of Public Health as they evolve, and will continue to keep the campus community updated on its impact to the Wheaton community.

Current status
Wheaton’s academic schedule is currently in between Summer Session 2 and the Fall semester.  A phased return of employees began on June 15 and included essential service and operations staff to begin the preparations for the fall semester, with classes scheduled to start on August 24.

Latest updates

On this page

Resources

Wheaton College

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

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Academics

Summer Session
The decision has been made to deliver all summer session courses remotely. This has resulted in even more additions to the summer course schedule, so please check out the exciting course offerings.

Academic-Related Policy Changes

Remote Teaching, Learning, & Advising
There are several campus resources to support remote teaching and advising work including the Center for Collaborative Teaching & Learning, the Wallace Library, Advising at a Distances: Strategies for Success Blog, and a FAQ for Faculty.

Faculty can contact Media Services at [email protected] to request Zoom accounts, training, or equipment recommendations. Google’s “Teach From Home” is an excellent resource for ideas on how to use Google suite’s applications for remote teaching and advising.

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Housing

The deadline to petition for on-campus summer housing has passed. We expect that students will have found alternative living arrangements at this time. If you have any questions, please email the Dean of Students Office at deanofstudents@wheatoncollege.edu. Only extenuating circumstances will be approved. If approved, it is important to note that the on-campus experience will be limited to housing and dining.

For students remaining on campus for the summer:

  • All dining locations will be closed. Students will have access to the food pantry and residence hall kitchen facilities.
  • There will be no in-person, social programming during this time.
  • All guests are prohibited from visiting residence halls and campus buildings.
  • Students on campus who are seeking services from Counseling, Health Services, Campus Safety, Residential Life or any on-campus office should email, call or text first.
  • Wheaton will continue its heightened cleaning protocols.

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Campus events and staffing

All on- and off-campus college events are suspended through August 1. Event and program organizers should explore the use of remote technology to deliver programming virtually during this time and even explore online possibilities for the remaining summer months.

Commencement

The official graduation date for seniors (the date on a student’s diploma and transcript), as set by academic policy and the calendar, remained as Saturday, May 16. The college conducted a virtual commencement ceremony at 10 a.m. on that day to mark the important occasion.

We continue to meet with the senior class officers to discuss the plans for an in-person celebration of the Class of 2020. The current restrictions on large gatherings have not yet been lifted in Massachusetts or nearby Rhode Island and probably will not be this summer, so these plans will have to take that into account. We have certainly seen how dramatically and how quickly plans can be affected by this pandemic and we have set June 1 as the final date to evaluate if we can go forward with these plans.

Reunion

On Saturday, May 16, a Virtual Reunion was held, which included Parlor Parties, webinars with faculty and staff, and an Alumni Town Hall consisting of a State of the College video address from President Hanno. In October, a few reunion classes will gather in person to celebrate their Reunion over Fall Fest weekend as part of the Alumni Association’s 150th Anniversary.

Athletics

The New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) made the decision to suspend all conference competition for spring sports, effective March 16. Wheaton College suspended all participation in spring sports competition, both NEWMAC and non-conference, effective March 16, 2020. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) canceled all remaining winter and spring NCAA championships.

Staffing

A phased return of staff began on Monday, June 15. In this first phase, essential service and operations staff returned to campus to begin the preparations for the fall semester. Most employees will continue to work remotely for the time being and those slated to return have been notified. We expect each of the three phases in our plan to last three to four weeks, enabling us to be ready to welcome returning students for the fall semester.

View the COVID-19 Guidelines and Information for Staff

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Travel guidelines

All college-sponsored travel has been suspended, until further notice. Please cancel any tickets and reservations you currently have.

Wheaton College updated its self-quarantine procedures on March 15. Any community member who has traveled internationally is not permitted to access campus for 14 days after the date they returned to the U.S. We encourage them to return to their family home or to an off-campus residence, to self-quarantine AND practice social distancing.

International Students: Maintaining Your U.S. Visa Status
U.S. government agencies recently issued guidance regarding COVID-19 adjustments to academic programs and maintenance of visa status. The guidance allows for greater flexibility than usual. The Center for Global Education will provide more information via email to our international populations.

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Past campus communications

President Hanno Community Updates

Provost White Faculty Updates

Student and Campus Procedures

Please continue checking our coronavirus (COVID-19) information page for further guidance and stay alert to ongoing updates from the college.

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