Welcome Back!

Dear Students, Faculty and Staff:

Welcome back to the spring semester! As we return to classrooms, offices and residence halls, let us rededicate ourselves to following all of the Red Hawk Restart safety protocols that helped us operate safely during the fall.

Specifically, please remember to:

Wear a mask that fits – All students, faculty, staff, contractors and visitors must wear non-valved, multi-layer cloth face coverings at all times in all interior public and shared work spaces, including classrooms and common areas, and outside when it is not possible to keep 6 feet apart from other people. Be sure your mask completely covers your nose and mouth and fits snugly under your chin and against the sides of your face without gaps. Masks that fulfill CDC guidelines can be purchased in person or online at the Montclair State bookstore.

Maintain social distancing – Keep at least 6 feet away from people who are not members of your safe social bubble, family or cohort. Obey the social distancing signage on campus.

Practice good hand hygiene – The University provides hand washing supplies in all restrooms. Hand-sanitizer stations are positioned throughout all buildings on campus, including outside of bathrooms and elevators, to ensure easy access and frequent use. Always wash or sanitize your hands before touching your eyes, nose or mouth.

Keep it clean – University Facilities and Housekeeping staff will continue to focus on disinfecting high-touch surfaces, cleaning common areas, and ensuring that hand sanitizer stations, restrooms and hand washing stations are operable, well maintained, and well-stocked. All employees, students and contractors are responsible for keeping their workspaces, classrooms, laboratories, and other common areas including workstations and equipment clean and sanitized upon arrival and exit.

Do Hawk Check every day – All employees, students, contractors and visitors are required to complete Hawk Check. Every member of the Montclair State community is required to do Hawk Check 7 days a week – even on days off. It only takes a minute, and it is one of our most important tools for breaking the chain of infections faster and keeping everyone safer. Once you have been vaccinated, please report it on Hawk Check.

Do your Red Hawk Restart training – All employees, campus visitors, contractors and students are also required to complete the Red Hawk Restart training prior to coming to campus. Please complete this training if you are new to campus – or review it you need a refresher. Find the student safety training here. Find employee, contractor and visitor training here.

Stay home if you are sick – Do not bring the virus to campus with you. If you have symptoms of COVID-19, do Hawk Check and stay home.

Get tested – This spring, Montclair State is expanding its testing program by adding rapid tests – allowing for thousands of additional tests per week. Testing is required for students, staff and faculty in high-contact programs including athletics, the arts, and in residence halls. In addition, the University will make testing available on campus for any student or employee who wants it. The next testing opportunity will be on Tuesday, February 9. Learn how to register.

Students and employees may also use the Passaic County testing site in Lot 60, which is open on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. If you do, please use 147 Clove Road, Little Falls, NJ 07424 as your address so that our University Health Center will receive a copy of your results.

Modes of Instruction – This spring we are offering a similar breakdown of remote, hybrid, and in-person classes for students, as we did in the fall. We have asked instructors to communicate to their students the rules and expectations for each of their courses and to maintain the course modality throughout the semester. Should any modifications in course modalities become necessary for safety reasons, those changes will be formally communicated by the University.

Mental Health Resources – If the pandemic has you feeling low, reach out to our Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), which provides free personal counseling and psychological services for students, as well as referrals and consultations for faculty and staff.

For more information, please visit the Red Hawk Restart website, where you can find answers to frequently asked questions, access to the COVID safety training programs, our weekly dashboard, and much more.

We Are in This Together

The cooperation of the entire University community contributed to our successful reopening last fall and allowed us to keep our case count low. Thank you for your cooperation in adapting to the protocols with grace and enthusiasm. The vaccines are coming, perhaps slowly but surely, and I am optimistic that we can look forward to a normal, or a close to normal, fall semester. Meanwhile, wear those masks!

Sincerely,
President Cole