RI Universities Open and Close Classes Due to Coronavirus — A Game of Academic Whack-a-Mole

Brown students are now returning to campus and classes this week. Johnson & Wales students are going virtual and campus is being closed down. Providence College is trying to back into the classroom while the University of Rhode Island is implementing mandatory coronavirus testing.

Four schools, three of which are just a few miles from one another, are having vastly different experiences. Providence College alone has reported 279 coronavirus cases.

In contrast, Brown has just 26 positive cases and more than 51,000 negative tests.

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Johnson & Wales announced Monday that “since reporting a recent spike in positive tests among JWU students living off-campus, we have been working collaboratively with the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) to mitigate the situation and prevent a widespread outbreak.”

The Providence Campus of Johnson & Wales classes will be fully remote. “Culinary and baking and pastry (B&P) lab students will receive directions from their college dean detailing a specific exception for Monday and Tuesday. Students are asked to follow all the appropriate COVID-19 protocols to maintain a healthy campus. Although culinary and B&P students will be able to attend classes on Monday and Tuesday of this week only, these students will need to follow the same stay at home procedures as all other students outlined below,” said the University in the statement.

URI announced on Monday that beginning immediately the school “will implement mandatory COVID-19 testing for all students, both on- and off-campus residents, in collaboration with the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH). The purpose of this mandatory testing is to assess the overall health of the entire student body at the University and establish a baseline data set to measure population health for the remainder of the fall semester.”

URI said the institution continues to be within the positivity rate recommended by the State and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  To date, URI has had 66 positive cases.

This weekend, Providence College’s President Kenneth Sicard announced, “The Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) has given Providence College provisional clearance to begin moving gradually toward in-person classes and the resumption of certain campus activities. We anticipate that in-person classes for some students will resume on a limited basis during the week of October 5th.  The College will conduct further extensive testing of the student body during the week of October 5th. If our testing data reveal acceptable results throughout the week, and with the approval of RIDOH, we anticipate the full resumption of in-person classes on October 12.”

Students at PC who were in the dorms and were sent home after the outbreak are now returning to school.

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