Slippery Rock University will only hold virtual classes through January to accommodate an expansive regimen for testing students for COVID-19.

In a letter sent to students, faculty and staff Friday, university president Bill Behre outlined the college's approach for a safe return to in-person instruction in the spring 2021 semester, describing the plan as a “deliberate and measured approach” to ensure health and wellness on campus.

From Jan. 12 through Jan. 31, classes will be wholly online. Behre said this allows the college to start its testing regimen. That regimen includes testing on-campus residents twice in their first week on campus, followed by once every other week; off-campus residents will be tested before returning to in-person classes Feb. 1 and will likewise see follow-up tests every two weeks.

Student-athletes will see a stricter testing schedule, having to be tested prior to on-campus practices and in-person meetings, which begin Feb. 1, and face follow-up tests every week. Behre said other groups “with the potential for substantial close contact” will also undergo tests weekly.

In the second phase of Slippery Rock's spring semester, which begins Feb. 1, all students who use any campus facility will take a COVID-19 test every other week. Students will follow the in-person attendance policies laid out by their course syllabi, and student-athletes will participate in practices at the direction of coaches and trainers.

These tests will be provided to Slippery Rock students free of charge and will be conducted by the university's Student Health Services, according to the letter. They are saliva-based polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, tests, which detect the presence of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

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