President Rose announced that the College will allow all seniors, juniors and sophomores to return to campus in the spring in an email to the campus community on Monday afternoon. First-year international students and students for whom home is not a conducive learning environment will also be able to apply to live on campus.

Rose did note that the College’s plan is subject to change, but he also noted the College’s success thus far with controlling COVID-19 on campus during the fall semester.

Classes will continue to be primarily online but faculty will have an opportunity to offer in-person courses including upper-level classes and laboratory courses. However, Rose noted that senior seminars will be entirely online to ensure all students have access to courses required to graduate.

Seniors will have the option to live off campus and still be “in residence.” Seniors living off campus will abide by the College’s rules and will participate in the College’s COVID-19 testing program. Students living in off campus housing did not have access to the campus facilities this fall. Sophomores and juniors will not be permitted to live off campus.

All students living on campus will have single bedrooms. The housing lottery will be held for on-campus housing starting on December 1.

The College will continue to test all students in residence twice a week and will continue its partnership with the Broad Institute. Prearrival COVID-19 testing and proof of a seasonal flu vaccination will be required of all students in residence. Students will continue to be required to follow a community agreement.

In a reversal of the College’s previous announcement about taking a personal leave of absence, students will now have until Monday, November 30 to decide to request or end a personal leave of absence. Students are encouraged to contact their deans to discuss this.

Rose added an announcement regarding the NESCAC winter sports competition will follow shortly.

The College has not announced a decision regarding study abroad but will announce the decision by November 1.

“I am grateful to everyone on campus, and in particular to our first-year students, for your successful efforts to follow our safety protocols and for the good cheer and care for one another that has been so evident,” wrote Rose. We are looking forward to having sophomores, juniors, and seniors here in the spring, and we will miss our first-year students.

This is a developing story and will be updated if new information becomes available.