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Seton Hall University

Information for Spring 2021 Semester  

Working together, we have reached the conclusion of a successful semester. Throughout, you have adjusted to each new development with exceptional flexibility, understanding and determination. Thank you.

We now wish to provide you information about the Spring 2021 semester to help you with your planning.

Seton Hall will continue to use the HyFlex teaching modality during the Spring 2021 semester, provided existing State of New Jersey guidance related to higher education remains unchanged.

The HICT continues to meet weekly, monitoring the ever-changing path of the virus, University and public health statistics, and government guidance. We may need to amend our plans and procedures during the semester. Your health and safety remain paramount in Seton Hall’s planning and actions.

Academic Calendar

Classes will begin on Wednesday, January 27, 2021 and continue through Tuesday, May 11, 2021. We will not have a traditional Spring Break, in order to limit travel, consistent with government guidance. We will close for Holy Thursday, April 1 and Good Friday, April 2. Classes are cancelled on Easter Monday, April 5, 2021.

Individual degree calendars may differ, so please check the Spring 2021 Academic Calendar and the School of Law calendar.

If you have questions regarding your course of study, please contact your dean's office.

Registration

Registration for the Spring 2021 semester is underway. When registering, students should indicate whether they plan to attend HyFlex or Remote. Student selections may be updated for each course through the end of the add/drop period, which ends on February 2, 2021. Please email any questions to [email protected].

Resident Students

Students may begin moving back to campus in mid-January, with continued health and safety protocols in place.

All resident students are required to test for COVID-19 and submit a negative test result no more than 5 days prior to arriving on campus. Results must be uploaded to the student’s health portal. Students who have tested positive for COVID-19 in the last 90 days do not need to be tested, but they do need to upload evidence of their positive test result to their student health portal.

Any student who tests positive for COVID-19 must remain at home for 10 days after testing positive.

Please note: The COVID-19 test must be a PCR or antigen test; antibody tests are not acceptable. Due to the need for the test to be completed and results received no more than 5 days prior to arrival on campus, we encourage you to consider taking a rapid test. Information about how to find testing sites near you and how to upload your results will be sent in a separate email to resident students.

The State of New Jersey’s Travel Advisory requires that anyone travelling from states/countries other than New Jersey and the regional states of Pennsylvania, Delaware, New York, and Connecticut quarantine for 10 days upon arrival in New Jersey. Therefore, all residents arriving from all other states must arrive on campus on January 15th. Residence hall check-in will run between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Be sure to complete and submit your negative COVID-19 test result no more than 5 days prior to January 15th. Therefore, if you are arriving on January 15th, you should test and submit your negative test result between January 10th – January 14th.

Please note – unlike the fall semester, you will be able to quarantine in your own room and have access to campus services if you have submitted your negative COVID-19 test result prior to arrival. Consistent with the state’s travel quarantine guidelines, you will not be permitted to leave campus until January 25th.

Resident students arriving from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, New York, and Connecticut may check-in to the residence halls beginning at 9 a.m. on January 22nd. Again, only residents who have completed and submitted a negative COVID-19 test no more than 5 days prior to arrival will be able to move into their room. Therefore, if you are arriving on January 22nd, you should test and submit your negative test result between January 17th – January 21st.

As in the Fall 2020 semester, the University has designated Ora Manor, an off-campus residential building, for any student who is diagnosed with COVID-19. Any student who is exposed to someone diagnosed with COVID-19 should quarantine at home if possible, and if that is not possible, they may quarantine at Ora Manor under strict conditions.

Additional residence hall and move in details will be provided to resident students by Student Services.

Testing

As part of a comprehensive testing plan and protocol, Health Services and Seton Hall test various students every week. This includes student athletes as part of BIG EAST guidelines, students participating in health care clinical settings, student teachers in classroom settings who require testing, students with concerns that they are symptomatic and who ask for a level of reassurance when not feeling well, and those who request a test because they are returning home and have concerns about bringing COVID-19 home to their family (we encourage students to plan ahead for these tests to get the results in a timely manner.)

Health Services provides all students (residential and off-campus) who need to quarantine following exposure to COVID-19, with required testing, along with other support.

Health Services will continue weekly random surveillance testing of resident students. Non-resident students may also participate in the surveillance testing program by going to Health Services and requesting a surveillance test kit. Students may request to be tested as frequently as once per week.

Student Life

In-person student events and gatherings will conform to the State’s reduced density guidelines. However, there is a wide array of student programming provided remotely. We encourage you to visit the Seton Hall University Calendar, to check out our A-Z Student Organization listing. A range of student organizations are available at the School of Law.

Students can engage virtually with the Academic Resource Center, Health Services, and Counseling and Psychological Services to name a few, via virtual appointment systems like Compass which will help reduce density.

To accommodate additional space to learn and study remotely on campus, students on the South Orange campus can access "Remote Learning Rooms" in Schwartz Hall. To reserve a room, click on a date, a time, select a room, and fill out the information specified on the form.

Athletic Facilities

In accordance with State of New Jersey guidelines, the Department of Athletics & Recreation will continue to provide a wide array of services in the Richie Regan Recreation & Athletic Center's fieldhouse and fitness center for full-time students and benefits-eligible faculty, staff and administrators. Please remember to use the new reservation system.

Campus Dining Services

Food services will resume, similar to the Fall 2020 semester, consistent with state health and CDC guidelines. All dining stations will be sanitized frequently. Indoor dining capacity has been reduced to allow for appropriate physical distancing and to follow state guidelines.

Spring 2021 hours of operation will be provided shortly.

Health and Safety Protocols

We know the course of the coronavirus has presented many twists and turns. The efforts of more than 140 community members have resulted in a Restart Plan that can accommodate every contingency. The HyFlex modality, which underpins our approach, is precisely the reason we can quickly adapt to shifting circumstances and changing government directives now and throughout the semester.

Once we return to campus, each one of us will play a vital role in promoting the health and safety of our entire community. A key component is the Seton Hall Pledge, a commitment to our shared responsibility to sustain the health and well-being of ourselves, others, and our community each day. Please watch the video about the Pledge; then, take the Pledge.

Download the #CampusClear App at the App Store or Google Play store. Use it every day, whether coming to campus or not. The #Campus Clear App is a daily symptom tracker for COVID-19 related symptoms. If you do not have a smart phone, use the online option in PirateNet.

Staying in Touch During the Break

Communication is vitally important, and we may need to adjust our plans during the semester in response to changing public and University health statistics or government guidance. We will keep you regularly updated.

Please remember to regularly consult your Seton Hall email and the Coronavirus Updates webpage, which includes a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section. These contain the latest University updates. You can submit additional questions to the HICT here.

Looking Forward to 2021

We look ahead with hope and great anticipation to the day when the public health situation and government guidance permit us to fully and completely welcome the entire Seton Hall community back to all of our campuses. Best wishes to each of you and your families for good health, a restful break, and God’s blessings throughout these holidays and Holy Days and 2021.

Sincerely,

Shawna Cooper-Gibson, Ed.D.
Vice President of Student Services

Matthew Borowick '89/MBA '94
Vice President of University Relations

Co-chairs, Health Intervention and Communication Team

Categories: Health and Medicine

For more information, please contact: