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OUR GUIDE TO NEW IDEAS, TIPS, TRENDS AND THINGS WE LOVE IN OUR COUNTY.
COLLEGE, 2020 STYLE This year, when local campuses roll out the welcome mat, it will be “safety first.” A collegian’s move-in day—parents helping sons and daughters tote suitcases, futons and mini fridges into stuffy dormitories— has long been a rite of passage. But this year, because of the continuing danger of COVID-19, the semester will begin a bit differently for many. Here’s what local campuses have planned: —Brookdale Community College: Classes start Tuesday, Sept. 8. Most will be conducted in a distance-learning format, with a few exceptions. “Automotive tech, ceramics, culinary, architecture, fashion, graphic design, organic chemistry and a few allied health programs that require clinical placements will be in-person,” says Matthew Reed, vice president for academic affairs. Virtual classes will be either “remote live”—in which students can interact with their peers and professor—or “online,” in which they watch a prerecorded class as their schedule permits. Social distancing will be enforced in classes held onsite, says Reed; hand sanitizer will be available in high-traffic areas such as around vending machines, and plexiglass partitions will be in-
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stalled where appropriate. There will be fewer entrances into these buildings, and before entering campus, everyone will answer questions about their symptoms and get their temperature taken. Perhaps most important, only two BCC campuses will be holding classes this fall: the main campus in Lincroft and the smaller Wall campus, home to Brookdale’s new nursing simulation station. —Monmouth University: The West Long Branch-based four-year college will also begin its fall semester on Sept. 8. It is instituting a combination of “in-person instruction, online sources and hybrid course delivery,” according to president Dr. Patrick F. Leahy’s address on the university website, in order to prioritize both students’ health and their education. Masks and face coverings will be required inside all buildings and common areas such as classrooms and dining spaces, as well as inside residence halls (though students don’t have to wear masks in their individual rooms). Public lounges inside the dorms will be closed, but dining services remain: Monmouth University has even created a new mobile app through which students can order their meals in advance for takeout. Temperature checks will be required upon entering high-traffic areas, and students and faculty also must fill out daily questionnaires about potential COVID-19 symptoms. Academically, “the flexible grading policy from the spring and summer sessions will continue in the fall,” Dr. Leahy says, “as a way to support our students through this unsettling time of their academic journeys.”