Bay Path University announces their ‘Path Forward’ for fall 2020

Sept. 10, 2020 | Miasha Lee

LONGMEADOW – Bay Path University announced their opening plan for fall 20202. The Path Forward, was created by their COVID-19 working group, which consists of members from across the University departments.

Senior Communications Director Kathleen Wroblewski stated, "The Path Forward provides the framework on how we will respond to the changing nature of the pandemic.  This plan reflects our actions which are guided by public health regulations and best practices. It supports our overarching goal to make sure each of our community members feels safe and can resume learning and daily activities.”

Bay Path has been serving communities for 123 years. Established in 1897, it was first located in Springfield as one of the largest and respected co-educational business schools in the region.

The college moved to Longmeadow in 1945 to its current location offering all-women bachelor’s degree programs, co-educational master’s degree programs, an occupational therapy doctorate program and an EdD in Higher Education Leadership & Organizational Studies program for men and women. There are additional Bay Path campuses in East Longmeadow, Concord, Sturbridge, and Springfield.

Bay Path has been remote since March. Throughout the pandemic, faculty and staff have been working from home.

As they’ve been gearing up for their fall 2020 opening, the school put into place protocols. A lot of the protocols put into place, Wroblewski said, were dictated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as Massachusetts and local public health guidelines.

In moving forward, faculty, staff and students will have to wear face masks in any public and indoor places. They have created signage on campus to give them directional guidelines on how to enter and exit buildings and keeping six feet distance whenever possible.

Bay Path also established a testing center on the campus at Carr Hall and daily symptoms check managed by an app the school has available on their portal for students, faculty and staff. They cannot be on campus without doing a test.

Along with routine custodial cleaning, the school has implemented an enhanced cleaning frequency using Victory electrostatic sprayers to clean classrooms, dorms, laboratories and other common areas as well as Environmental Protection Agency registered disinfectants for entrance handles, handrails, elevator buttons, tables and restroom stall doors/handles.

The school put into effect a new ID system. Everyone including faculty and staff will need a special ID to get into certain buildings on campus.

Though Wroblewski mentioned there are no alterations to the academic calendar to accommodate for holidays, she said, “We don’t know what’s going to happen with the pandemic. We have to be responsive to what happens within the greater world.”

Wroblewski went on to say, “We can’t anticipate the future. However, we believe we have a solid academic learning plan in place and we're going to continue to give what we do best for our students.”

The first day of classes for students started Sept. 8.

Bay Path will keep posting updates and additional information on their website as they continue to monitor federal, state and local guidelines on the ongoing developments of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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