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Point University student-athletes start arriving on campus on Aug. 8, signaling the start of the 2020-21 school year.

Like colleges around the country, Point has been working on its plans to reopen its campus and living facilities for students for the fall semester. Point has its plans finalized for the school year, though the situation could still change due to COVID-19.

When students arrive on campus, they must first have read and signed a 17-page packet called “Point Returns to Campus,” which gives information about academic and residential standards and regulations for the 2020 fall semester. Before arriving to campus, students have two options showing they do not have the virus.

The first option is taking a COVID-19 test and having a negative result, which they are to show either to the Student Life Office, the Campus Life Minister in the residential building or Head Athletic Trainer Adam Daum.

The other option is taking the Daily Screening Questionnaire on Survey Monkey. Students are to start answering the questions 10 days before returning to campus.

As students return to campus, they will be grouped into families and flocks. Families are made up of 10 students. Family members will be housed together, or in close proximity to one another, and while social distancing and face coverings are encouraged, they are not required within family groups. Flocks are made up of two families.

Students will sign up for move-in times based on which group they are a part of, such as football players, band members, non-athletes, etc.

In order to move-in on campus or participate in live classroom sessions, students must complete all of the pre-arrival instructions posted on the Point Care website. Students that do not show proof will not be allowed to move in and must reschedule their move-in date. Face coverings will be required in all buildings and parking lots during move in.

Students and those helping the student during move-in are allowed only two hours to move in and situate the student’s living area before they are required to leave. Students will not be allowed to return until 7 p.m. that night.

In traditional dorms, common rooms and kitchens are closed. In all dorms, face coverings are required in stairwells and laundry rooms.

Students are not allowed to visit other student’s living area that are not part of their family. There are no outside guests permitted in any living area.

If a student were to test positive while living on campus, they must return home if they live in a 200-mile radius from campus. If they are unable to do so, due to being an international student or distance from home, students will be provided with alternate living arrangements until they have been cleared from the virus.

“We’re monitoring students and following CDC guidelines,” said Dr. Stacy Bartlett, chief advancement and enrollment officer.

Students are required to bring three to five face coverings, which they will be required to wash after use, a thermometer, fever-reducing medicine, hand sanitizer and cleaning supplies like Clorox wipes.

Classes will start on Aug. 26, with the semester ending on Dec. 20. Students will not be allowed to return to campus after Nov. 20, when classes are dismissed for Thanksgiving break. Those wishing to stay will have to fill out hardship forms, which will be available starting in November.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Point developed a hybrid learning model they have dubbed Unbounded. Unbounded is a flexible, highly interactive, in-person classroom experience with virtual and online options for both learning and faculty presence. Offering courses via the Unbounded model allows them to meet our three priorities of flexible instruction, radical availability, and focused personal attention for each student.

Students will access course content via the Canvas learning management system where information is posted by faculty about in-person classroom opportunities throughout the semester.

“It’s how we’re offering our academic programs with flexibility,” Bartlett said. “We knew at a base level that if a student or faculty member were to get sick, we still needed to be able to provide the academic content for them and provide flexibility.

Anyone in any public area on campus is required to wear a facial covering.