Dear New York Tech community,

New York Tech continues to keep the safety and well-being of our campus communities our No. 1 priority, as we have since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the vaccination process is moving much faster now than in the first months of the year, we are still very much in the throes of the pandemic, with uncertainty remaining on several fronts.

At this time, as we look forward to the 2021-2022 academic year and especially the fall semester, flexibility will still be required. Our current plan is for a good number of courses to be delivered in-person or in a blended (partially in-person) format, while others may still be offered in online or hybrid-remote modalities. That plan may change if the pandemic takes a turn for the worse later this spring or summer. But we will remain prepared to pivot to remote instruction if needed, as we’ve successfully done over the course of the past year.

Fall class schedules (indicating mode of course delivery) are now posted online, and fall 2021 semester advisement and registration have begun. In addition, as previously announced, classes this summer are being offered in a range of modalities at a discounted rate.

Our protocols, testing, and vaccine requirements for the fall will be subject to local and state public health guidelines. While a few schools recently announced they will require students to have COVID vaccinations, we remind everyone that current vaccines have been approved for emergency use only and are not yet fully approved by the FDA. So, while we advocate that students, faculty, and staff be vaccinated, we cannot require it at this time.

We’ll also be sharing information regarding events and co-curricular activities on campus. In addition, a considerable number of our employees who have been working from home will transition back to campus as the fall semester approaches.

As we make plans to return to campus, we look forward to unveiling substantial enhancements made over the past year to campus facilities, infrastructure, and technology to improve our teaching, learning, and working environment. From improvements to HVAC, ventilation, and safety features for your health, to smarter classrooms and new WiFi-enabled outdoor study spaces, to more comfortable lounge spaces and dining hall environments, everyone will benefit from our on-campus improvements.

In short, we will continue to share further details about the fall semester as the situation becomes clearer. And while we look forward to a fall semester that brings more of us back to campus, we must remain vigilant and continue to follow all protocols, including wearing face coverings and practicing social distancing as well as good hand hygiene. We also strongly encourage all community members who are eligible to further protect themselves and others by receiving COVID vaccines.

Lastly, I want to note that our ability to transition back to more normal campus operations is testament to the efforts our community members have already made, which have resulted in one of the lowest COVID positivity rates among local universities. Thank you for continuing to follow these protocols as we look forward to our new normal at New York Tech this fall.

Sincerely,

Hank Foley, Ph.D.
President, New York Institute of Technology