SUNY Chancellor Jim Malatras.

Another State University of New York campus will be going to an all-remote model of learning for the coming weeks.

On Monday evening, State University of New York Chancellor Jim Malatras and SUNY Cortland President Erik J. Bitterbaum announced a pause on all in-person classes and activities following an increase in COVID cases. At 101 cases, SUNY Cortland has tonight met the 100-case threshold to transition to remote learning under New York State Department of Health guidance. Many of the cases are from off-campus students.

That is quite a contrast from SUNY Fredonia, where the most recent cases for the two-week period are at 10. Overall, after an early spike, the university has had a total of 116 cases since mid August.

Pursuant to New York State Department of Health guidance, residential facilities will remain open and students stay on campus for a temporary two-week shift to remote learning to prevent further spread of the virus. SUNY Cortland will retest every student for the virus and increase enforcement of Chancellor’s new uniform safety standards, which were officially enacted on Oct. 1. Students found to have violated safety guidelines will face immediate academic and housing suspension and possible dismissal, loss of athletic eligibility, and ineligibility for admission at every other SUNY college. Student groups in violation may be banned from campus permanently.

Malatras appointed Frank Lawrence, Commissioner of SUNY University Police, to work with Cortland University Police on safety protocol enforcement.

If cases stabilize and students comply with safety measures, the Cortland County Department of Health may authorize the resumption of in-person learning.

“Now that SUNY Cortland must pause and shift to remote learning the college must redouble its efforts to stabilize and contain the virus on campus,” said Malatras. “It’s up to the entire campus community to come together and bend the curve so that every student has the chance to enjoy their campus experience.”

SUNY Oswego resumed in-person classes today after a similar, two-week pause was initiated on Sept. 18. With 82 cases on campus, SUNY Oswego acted quickly to increase testing, tracing, and safety enforcement, and gained widespread buy-in from students who acted diligently and responsibly to dramatically reduce virus cases over the course of 14 days, ensuring a safe return to in-person learning.