Syracuse University is evaluating whether it will resume on-campus classes in fall 2020, the leader of the university’s coronavirus response team said Monday.

SU announced March 16 that it would transition to online instruction through the end of the spring semester due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. The university will heed the guidance of public health officials when determining whether to resume on-campus classes in the fall, said Mike Haynie, vice chancellor for strategic initiatives and innovation.

“Syracuse University will return in the fall,” Haynie said. “What that looks like, what it means to return — there are still a lot of questions around that.”

The novel coronavirus causes COVID-19, a respiratory disease that has infected more than 1.3 million people and killed at least 74,807 worldwide. New York state has confirmed at least 131,815 cases of the virus and 4,758 deaths while Onondaga County has reported at least 377 cases and five deaths.

SU may not immediately decide to resume on-campus classes even if social distancing measures imposed to curb the virus’ spread are lifted, Haynie said. The university’s first priority is to protect the health of its students, faculty and staff while continuing its academic mission, he said.

Forecasting the university’s future response to the virus has proven difficult, with conditions changing by the hour, Haynie said. University officials have been keeping tabs on SU community members the virus has affected, he said.

“That’s what’s most unique about this situation,” Haynie said. “We are making decisions in the face of what really is an inherently unknowable future.”

The disruption of on-campus instruction has also affected SU financially, Haynie said. Actions the university has taken in response to the pandemic — including the refunding of students’ room and board costs for the remainder of the spring semester — have had a significant financial impact, he said.

“There are many other decisions we have made that are the right decisions for our students, for their families,” Haynie said. “But at the end of the day (they) are going to have significant and lasting financial implications for the institutions.”

The university may later release information about the pandemic’s financial impact on SU and how it will affect the school moving forward, Haynie said.

The ability for universities to test students for COVID-19 will also factor into SU’s decision to resume on-campus classes, Haynie said. SU is looking for ways to better evaluate the potential risks of bringing students back to campus in the fall, he said.

“Right now, that’s not on the table for us,” Haynie said. “As issues like that are resolved, the picture for the fall becomes clearer.”

SU is also working with local government officials to coordinate its COVID-19 response, Haynie said. The university will temporarily close Drumlins Golf Course to comply with an executive order Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon issued Sunday, he said. The order, which went into effect Monday at 8 p.m., mandates that county golf courses must close for the next two weeks.

The university’s COVID-19 policy group has continued meeting virtually three days a week to discuss issues related to the outbreak, Haynie said. The group aims to identify the people whom each issue impacts and work with appropriate university officials to reach a resolution, he said.

Currently, the group is working to equip essential employees at SU with masks, Haynie said. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently advised Americans to wear cloth face coverings in a public setting.

Haynie has communicated regularly with epidemiologists from SU’s David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics to gain a better understanding of the situation, he said.

Communication has also been a key component of SU’s COVID-19 response, Haynie said. The university has worked to consistently update students about SU’s handling of the situation, he said.

“We’ve tried our best to overcommunicate,” Haynie said. “We can do our best to reduce — I don’t think we’ll ever eliminate — but to reduce anxiety that is a function of just not knowing.”

The protocols SU has developed in response to COVID-19 will help guide the university’s response to any future public health crisis, Haynie said. Regardless of whether students return to SU in the fall, COVID-19 will likely alter how the university functions moving forward, he said.

“Until there’s a vaccine, there’s going to be a persistent health risk,” Haynie said. “And as a consequence, it really is going to force us to rethink how we do a lot of things at the institution for the foreseeable future.”

Published on April 7, 2020 at 2:12 am

Contact Chris: cjhippen@syr.edu