Coronavirus
You can contact the Coronavirus Planning Team at coronavirusplanning@mail.sacredheart.edu.
Community Update
April 25, 2020
Dear members of the Sacred Heart University community,
This week, we are sharing with you some work the University is doing to respond to these unprecedented times—both internally and out in public.
The focus right now is on getting students back on campus for on-ground classes and experiences as soon as we are able to do so safely. We realize that the reopening of campuses (like the rest of the economy) will be gradual and will mean modifications to ensure everyone’s safety. To that end, we are looking at a variety of scenarios and contingencies. That said, Sacred Heart is planning to resume our on-campus, residential program in the fall of 2020, following the recommended best health practices of the CDC and guidance from the Governor. After the health and safety of our community, getting students, faculty and staff back on campus is the University’s top priority.
Working behind the scenes on our responses to this pandemic and our plans to get back to campus are a group of task forces appointed by President Petillo. Each task force is appropriately populated with the University staff and faculty with the knowledge and experience to tackle the issues before them, and these leaders are bringing in others throughout campus as needed. We have already shared some of the decisions that have been made, including decommissioning some buildings, opening up others to first responders and much more. These task forces cover the full range of University operations that have been affected by this crisis.
As its name suggests, there is a fall semester task force planning for several scenarios for learning as we head to the beginning of the next academic year and look at the various contingencies under which we can return to campus. The community wellness team is working to ensure the physical, mental and spiritual health of the SHU community and putting in place whatever is needed to maintain it. This can range from informational programs and sharing sessions to providing face masks and hand sanitizer and implementing robust cleaning protocols. They are also examining the lessons learned from this experience that can help us under similar circumstances in the future. The business continuity task force is ensuring that the University continues to run efficiently, maintains its financial stability and is able to pivot quickly to respond to rapidly changing business environments. The campus operations & emergency housing team has been making decisions about decommissioning buildings, offering housing to first responders and what both areas will need to maintain safe, clean and healthy environments. There is a reimagining the University task force that is considering what the University of the future might look like given the times in which we live and how education, business and the marketplace has changed so dramatically. Finally, the communications task force has been (and will continue) keeping you informed as information becomes available and decisions are made. That group is also looking at ways to constantly improve communications, University-wide, going forward.
Throughout this crisis, University faculty, staff, students and alumni have been coming up with some creative ideas to help others during this crisis. You can read about some of them on our website.
In addition, for the past few weeks, the SHU food truck has been providing breakfast free of charge for frontline workers at Bridgeport and St. Vincent’s Hospitals, and we are making plans to expand to lunch and dinner offerings. View the coverage from News 12.
Launched with a generous gift from a trustee, the University has started a relief fund for students who are experiencing financial distress because of the pandemic. Students will be able to apply for grants from the fund.
Yesterday was the University’s annual Academic Festival where students present projects that they have been working on for most of the year—including during the past six weeks of distance learning. The festival was virtual this year with students posting their research on Digital Commons and uploading video presentations of their work. Many students participated in the live stream, which included the awards ceremony. Click the link above to see their incredible work.
Let’s continue to pray for the sick and their loved ones and look forward to the time when we will all be together again.
Have a good weekend!
The Coronavirus Planning Team
Anti-Stigma Statement
Regrettably, in the wake of the coronavirus and its origins in China, there has been an increasing number of news reports regarding stereotyping, harassment and bullying directed at persons perceived to be of Chinese American or, more generally, Asian descent, including students. We know that we don’t have to worry about that at Sacred Heart, but we would be remiss if we did not remind you all that we do not tolerate any kind of ethnic harassment or bullying here.
Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Frequently Asked Questions
University Planning & Response
- The University has established a Coronavirus Management Team to monitor best-practices and guidance from local, state and federal health authorities and to coordinate the University’s ongoing response.
- Classes were suspended on March 10, 2020 and online classes began on March 11, 2020 and will remain online for the foreseeable future. The exception to online learning will be clinical placements and labs as long as they continue to be safe. Faculty will utilize instructional resources to assist them in continuing to deliver their programs to students online. Be sure to check with your professors about how best to connect online for classes.
- The University has reviewed protocols with its cleaning, dining and transportation contractors and continue to meet regularly as the situation develops. Our cleaning contractor has disinfected all bathrooms in University housing facilities in anticipation of our students returning from Spring Break and will increase cleaning frequency of high touch points throughout the campus.
Effective immediately all major events on campus will be canceled.
At this point, we are being extremely conservative and proactive and are exceeding the guidelines of the CDC. The University has moved all instruction online to give students the option to attend classes from home without making any adjustments to their class schedules or graduation timelines. We have asked that faculty provide their students with maximum flexibility to accommodate this change and that decisions be based upon fairness and what is most supportive of students. We should seek to minimize anxieties for our students as much as possible, especially related to how this might impact student progress toward their degree and future career prospects. Regarding clinicals: We are doing our best to limit our clinical labs as much as possible, but we also want to ensure that students are able to effectively finish their programs. Clinicals are necessary for graduation and licensing. One of our clinical sites has already pulled our students from clinicals, and we expect others will follow.
To ease the transition to online learning, we are extending the deadline for midterm grades from March 18 to March 25. The deadline for withdrawals has moved from March 23 to March 30. Requests for withdrawals can be emailed to registrar@sacredheart.edu. You should include your name, ID number and the class you want to withdraw from in the email.
We are currently working on a policy and process for allowing a pass/fail option for many courses. We want to make sure students will be able to make informed decisions on pass/fail that do not adversely affect those in programs like nursing or who are planning to apply for graduate schools that may not accept pass/fail grades. Pass/fail grades are not included in the GPA, but can satisfy graduation, financial aid eligibility and other requirements.
As of March 12, 2020 all Sacred Heart University students in study abroad programs are returning home.
Students are not required to leave campus, but may if they choose to do so. Class instruction will take place online.
ALL D1 team activities, regardless of the season, will cease immediately. That includes tournaments, games and practices.
ALL club sports activities will cease immediately.
Refunds
Yes. Students who have left campus because of the residence hall closure will receive a partial credit for room charges. Once we have worked out the processing logistics, we will share them with you.
Yes. Students who have left campus and are no longer using their meal plans will receive a partial credit for their meal plan. Details will be shared as soon as they are finalized.
Credits will be applied against charges for the fall semester. For graduating seniors, the credit will be refunded by student request or left on account for graduate studies in the fall.
No. Classes will continue for the remainder of the semester, but through online distance learning.
Residential Halls
We realize that many students are making the decision to continue their online learning from home, but are also aware that that there are students for whom Sacred Heart is their only home.
Because we need to know who will be remaining on campus, we are asking anyone who plans to be here beyond noon on March 17 to fill out this form by tomorrow (Saturday March 14) at 10 a.m. if you haven’t done so already.
We are asking students who are currently on campus and are planning to leave as well as those who have already left and would like to pick up their belongings to try to do so during designated checkout times (see below). Again, for everyone’s safety, it is important for us to know who has checked out and who is remaining on campus.
Checkout Times
- Friday, March 13: 4 pm to 9 pm
- Saturday, March 14: 9 am to 9 pm
- Sunday, March 15: 9 am to 9 pm
- Monday, March 16: 9 am to 9 pm
- Tuesday, March 17: 9 am to noon
If you are leaving campus now, but cannot take your belongings, we ask that you pack everything, label the boxes with your name and room number and leave them in your room. Boxes are available at University Commons.
If you cannot complete check out by Tuesday at noon, you will need to contact residential life by replying to this email to arrange access to your living space.
Dining Services
Dining areas will remain open to support students who rely on those services.
Travel
Yes, Sacred Heart University is prohibiting all university-related travel to international locations for all faculty, staff and students in adherence to the March 19, 2020 U.S. State Department’s Global Level 4 Health Advisory – Do Not Travel. The University is also restricting all non-essential domestic business travel at this time. There are currently no personal domestic travel restrictions for students.
Yes. We are requiring all students, faculty and staff who have traveled out of the country or plan to do so to fill out our international travel form before returning to campus. If you visited a CDC level 3 country, you must self-isolate for 14 days before returning to campus. Going forward, as you make international travel plans, please fill out the form.
No, SEVP has informed all schools that this will not be considered a violation of your F-1 visa. When the University resumes face to face classes, all F-1 students will be expected to return to classes. If you choose to travel home, please refer to the CDC website for any travel restrictions or port-of-entry screening processes.
Health & Wellness
- For more information about coronavirus (COVID-19), please refer to the CDC's Frequently Asked Questions.
- Learn about the CDC's recommendation regarding the use of cloth facing coverings.