As Virginia Tech University approached its Aug. 24 planned hybrid opening of the fall semester, the institution’s leaders were closely monitoring COVID-19 outbreaks and responses on other campuses as well as assessing their own situation.
A series of missives appeared on the university’s website from Dr. Tim Sands, Virginia Tech’s president, in the uncertain days leading up to the opening, commending and thanking “Hokie Nation” for “meeting every challenge COVID-19 has thrown at us. It hasn’t been easy, but thanks to you, we have the opportunity to move incrementally toward more normal operations.”
Sands defended the decision for the hybrid approach, a combination of in-person and remote classes, explaining that a fully remote opening would result in up to $210 million in additional expenses and lost revenue. But, he stated, “we will move to remote operation if public health considerations dictate.”
On Aug. 20, just four days before the official opening, Virginia Tech Dean of Students Byron Hughes announced that the university had suspended seven students as a result of certain incidents that were not detailed.
However, an Aug. 18 update from Sands stated that five cases of COVID-19 had been reported. “Of the 3,663 individuals tested between Aug. 9 and Aug. 16, we have one true positive and four positives from students who had previously confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infections,” Sands stated in the update.
The university planned a combination of in-person and online classes and 8,600 students were expected to reside on campus, arriving over a 10-day period. All on-campus students were required to be tested for COVID-19 before Aug. 24.
Sands also said “the experience of other institutions” confirmed an earlier concern he had expressed. “Our greatest risks are off-campus social gatherings without face coverings, physical distancing, or adequate ventilation.” At the time, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill had abruptly reversed its opening and switched to all-online classes after more than 130 new cases were reported, and scores of other schools were having similar problems in part due to off-campus parties and other large gatherings.
