Rhodes College to start classes remotely
Rhodes College will keep its Jan. 12 start date for the semester, but classes will begin remotely before transitioning to in-person classes Jan. 31 if COVID cases decline. (The Daily Memphian file)
Rhodes College is altering its plans for the spring semester after consultation with medical experts.
The college will keep its Jan. 12 start date for the semester, but classes will begin remotely before transitioning to in-person classes Jan. 31. However, the in-person return is tentative, depending on an expected decline in COVID-19 cases.
The decision, according to an announcement on Rhodes’ website, came as the city of Memphis reached a record number of COVID-19 cases amid the rapid spread of the Omicron variant. In the last week of 2021, case counts in Shelby County surpassed previous records three times.
The college consulted with Baptist Memorial Health Care about the decision. Rhodes and the health care system established a partnership in 2020 to develop Rhodes’ safety protocols, mitigation strategies and provide testing and case monitoring.
“While student health well-being was paramount in our decision, we also took into account the very real impact post-holiday breakthrough infections are already having on our staff. With recuperative and quarantining time from such illnesses, however slight, an inordinate number of essential personnel will likely be unavailable for as long as 10 days,” the announcement said.
“The determination to return to in-person classes on January 31 is based on the strong possibility — but not certainty — that we will see a rapid decline in the number of cases in late January.”
The college implemented a campus-wide COVID-19 vaccination requirement this past September.
Rhodes is among various Tennessee colleges and universities that have altered their semester return plans. In Nashville, both Vanderbilt University and Tennessee State University have delayed their returns.
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Rhodes College COVID-19 coronavirus virtual learningDaja E. Henry
Daja E. Henry is originally from New Orleans, Louisiana. She is a graduate of Howard University and the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University and currently is a general assignment reporter.
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