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.
WVU Potomac State College students coordinated a shoe drive this past year for children of the Kibera slums in Nairobi, Kenya. Sammy, a nurse from Nairobi, was thrilled to deliver the shoes to those in need.
West Virginia University Potomac State College assistant professor of chemistry, Ganesh Ghimire, PhD, was recently awarded an Open Education Resources grant. The OER grant opportunity is offered through the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission and the Community and Technical College System.
Regular on-campus surveillance COVID testing, along with self-reported positive cases from external testing, indicates an increase in positive cases on the WVU Potomac State College campus. As of Sunday, November 1, a total of 18 positive cases have been reported for the campus, with 15 positive tests for students and three among faculty and staff. Of the 15 positive student cases, three are isolating on campus with the other 12 students isolating at their homes. An additional 40 students are quarantined due to exposure to the positive cases. Fourteen students are quarantined in on-campus housing with the others quarantined in their homes. Most students who are in isolation or quarantine on-campus are being housed in Davis Hall, a residence hall that is not being utilized by any other students.