Lock Haven University altering fall plans because bringing everyone back ‘too risky to undertake’
Lock Haven University — a public university 40 miles northeast of Penn State — announced Monday it is making serious changes to its fall reopening plan in response to the evolving COVID-19 pandemic, moving more classes online and considerably reducing on-campus housing because bringing everyone back is “too risky to undertake.”
According to the university, which has an undergraduate enrollment of about 3,000, the goal is to reduce on-campus residency by two-thirds while moving as many as 85% of classes to online-only. Only one student per residence hall room will be permitted, and priority will be given to those who must take face-to-face classes due to their major and those who have internships, labs or the like.
“We are not winning the battle against COVID-19,” LHU President Robert Pignatello said in a written statement. “Our students come from all parts of Pennsylvania, many from areas where the virus is now surging; they also come from 11 states and seven countries. This reality is of great concern and requires major changes to our operational plan.
“We can do a lot to mitigate the risk, and our original plan did so, but we have concluded that with the entire campus back, we cannot do enough to reduce the risk to our students, faculty and staff and their families, making these revisions necessary.”
To date, Lock Haven has had one positive case of COVID-19 reported on campus. In Clinton County, where LHU is located, there have been 112 total cases. By comparison, Penn State has also had one positive case confirmed on campus — and Centre County, which is about four times larger than Clinton, has had 370 cases.
According to a Lock Haven spokesperson, there was not one singular reason for the changes. Instead, the university cited numerous factors — overall risk to students, staff and the greater community; inadequate contact tracing and testing with delays up to two weeks; social-distancing challenges in classrooms; the “high risk” of an in-term outbreak; risk with high levels of congregate housing; and the risk involved with unmonitored off-campus activity.
“There were too many complicating factors in preventing us from having an assurance of safety and an assurance that we could provide for the safety, health and welfare of our entire campus community,” spokesperson Elizabeth Arnold told the CDT. “I can’t say there was any one thing, but it was a combination of factors that pushed the university to its decision.”
Lock Haven students whose classes switched to online-only will receive a modest refund. In-state undergraduates will see about a $30 reduction per credit hour, which amounts to about a 6% decrease.
Any face-to-face classes will still end by Nov. 20 as previously planned. Fall sports had already been canceled.
Students with further questions are asked to call a hotline at 570-484-3700, which will be available from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., visit the online FAQ or email update@lockhaven.edu.
“Right now we feel that COVID-19 can spread far too easily in the everyday collegiate environment,” Pignatello said. “Having significantly fewer people on campus is an imperative to avoid this. Until the virus is under better control and we can return to safer and more normal operations, it is up to us as a family to look out for one another, to care for one another and to make hard decisions that are in our collective best interest to protect one another.
“There is hope late this year for vaccines, treatments and better testing. But that time is not now. This is a once in a century event in our history that requires short-term adjustments until it is safe to return to greater normalcy.”
This story was originally published July 29, 2020 at 3:34 PM.
