Yesterday, a message was sent to faculty, staff and students with Spring Semester 2021 Return-to-Campus information. Included in the messaging were details about COVID-19 testing and how faculty, staff and students returning to campus for spring semester will be required to undergo COVID-19 testing in January 2021.
The information included details explaining how to register for a preferred testing date/time via StarRez, WVU’s housing portal. However, the StarRez portal won’t be active until after Jan. 4, 2021. Testing will take place Jan. 11 through 15. Reminder emails will be sent after Jan. 4, 2021 letting everyone know when the StarRez portal is active and will again include detailed instructions explaining how to register for a preferred date/time.
Now that the Fall 2020 semester is completed, PSC is setting its sights on the Spring
2021 semester. Academic instruction begins Tuesday, January 19, 2021. The following
information will help students prepare and understand what’s required as they either
continue or embark on their college careers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
PSC will continue the fall strategy of reducing classroom capacity and moving some
classes online to slow the spread of COVID-19. We will continually monitor the
local public health situation and adjust as necessary.
From registered nurses to specialized nursing fields like dialysis, midwife, legal consultant, and nursing anesthetist, the demand for nurses has soared and isn’t expected to slow down anytime soon. This is due in part to the fact that a large percentage of the nursing population is approaching retirement age, and because more treatment options are now available for illnesses and diseases.WVU PSC Nursing Student Benjamin Ritz, a junior in the program, is shown setting an IV infusion. BSN applications for fall 2021 are being accepted now through Jan. 15. For more information, visit the Potomac State College BSN nursing program webpage.
Due to the increased number of COVID-19 cases within the state and on West Virginia University’s campuses, including Morgantown, Keyser and Beckley, all undergraduate instruction will move online Nov. 23-24.
Residence halls and dining services on the WVU Potomac State College campus will remain open and operating on a normal schedule through Wednesday, Nov. 25, at noon, to allow students to remain on campus and attend classes online should they be waiting for COVID-test results or transportation home.
As part of the College’s ongoing surveillance testing efforts and in order to keep students and their families safe, the College is requiring all students that currently reside on campus to participate in COVID testing on Wednesday Nov. 18 at the J. Edward Kelley Rec Center on campus. This gives students an opportunity to test before returning home for the holiday and completion of the semester.
If students participated in last week’s round of testing, they do not have to participate but can if they choose to do so. If an individual has not been tested yet or tested prior to 11/11/2020, the College will still require participation in this upcoming testing opportunity Nov. 18. Please note, if you have already gone home for the semester you are not required to test.
In response to an increase in positive COVID-19 test results within Mineral County and neighboring Allegany County, Maryland, WVU Potomac State College continues to work closely with the Mineral County Health Department (MCHD) as administrators monitor the situation both on campus and in the community.
“We believe that our measures of containment, which include surveillance testing, contact tracing, isolating positive cases and quarantining those in close contact, are working,” Potomac State College President Jennifer Orlikoff said. “We remain confident in the safety protocols we have in place for our classrooms, residence halls, library, dining and other services across campus to allow us to presently continue with an on-campus experience for our students.”
This has been an extraordinarily different semester for everyone -- faculty, staff and students – as we navigate teaching, learning and living during a pandemic. I’m both proud and grateful for how the campus community has rallied to overcome this unique challenge while at the same time maintaining some normalcy of life.