Rebuild the Bubble - Golden Knights Rise to the Occasion
In the opening days of the fall semester, we created a bubble that was free from COVID-19 and together we stopped it in our campus community. We had less than one percent positivity rate in our testing and our University worked diligently with our public health partners to keep the campus safe. We must maintain that same mindset this semester. On this page are the links and answers to what you need to know to start classes and to rebuild the bubble that stops the spread of COVID-19. We also have an easy to read FAQ page. If you have any questions or further comments on these plans, please reach out to community@clarkson.edu.
The Latest Announcements
Clarkson classes for the Spring Semester will begin remotely on Wednesday, January 13, 2021 for all students.
We will resume in-person classes beginning on Monday, January 18, 2021. We will again be asking students to stay on campus for the duration of the semester through final exams, and will be working with student leaders to restructure plans that are alternatives to breaks and spreading them throughout the semester. We have contingency plans in place if New York State determines that universities must delay their in person reopening plans.
The adjacent image reflects the color-coded risk alert system and related policies on gatherings.
Academic Calendar
January 15, 2021 - COVID-19 Read: Update on Vaccination Access
January 15, 2021 - COVID-19 Read/Watch: President’s Return to Campus Message
January 14, 2021 - COVID-19 Read: Positive Cases to Report
January 14, 2021 - COVID-19 Read & Act: New QR Code Scanning Tools Supports Contact Tracing
January 14, 2021 - COVID-19 READ: BOOKSTORE OPEN FOR ONLINE ORDER/ CURBSIDE PICKUP ONLY
January 8, 2021 - COVID-19 Read - How On-Campus Testing Results Are Conveyed to You
January 7, 2021 - COVID-19 Read: A Pivotal Weekend Ahead for Rebuilding the Bubble
January 7, 2021- COVID-19 Read: Questions about NYS Guidelines for Office-Based Settings
January 3, 2021 - COVID-Read: Positive Cases Reported in New Year / Review Need to Know Information to Rebuild the Bubble
January 2, 2021 - CU COVID-19 Risk Level Red While We Rebuild the Bubble
December 17, 2020 - COVID-19 Vaccine Information
December 9, 2020- Rebuild the Bubble In January -- Comprehensive Summary of Information On Spring Semester @ www.clarkson.edu/spring-2021
December 8, 2020- Undergraduate Spring 2021 Required COVID-19 Testing and Quarantine Information
December 7, 2020- Employees: Five Hours a week to 'Focus on Family Needs'
December 7, 2020- COVID-19 Read: Spring Calendar, 8 Break Days w/ No Classes; Tentative Commencement Plans
December 2, 2020- COVID-19 Read: Restart for January – Employees Returning to CRC and Beacon Campus Operations in 2021
December 2, 2020- COVID-19 Read: Restart for January – COVID-19 Testing for Employees Returning to Potsdam Campus Operations in 2021
November 25, 2020- COVID-19 Read: Holiday Gatherings/Travel Guidance/Reminders on Spring Return to Work
November 23, 2020- Staff Medical Request for Accommodation – Spring 2021
November 9, 2020- Save the Date: 2021 Spring Career Fair: February 8 – 12
October 23, 2020- COVID-19 Read: Spring Semester Restart Plans
October 19, 2020- COVID-19 Read: Spring 2021 Remote Learning Requests
Previous Announcements
Students and Families
Find the answers here to your most common questions about COVID-19 testing and precautions, academic concerns, student life -- even laundry.
- Do you have questions about your curricular and co-curricular options and unsure of next steps? Visit https://www.clarkson.edu/office-university-advising-oua
- Want to know more about spring course descriptions, your spring invoice, the "to do list" on myCU, or financial aid matters? Visit https://www.clarkson.edu/student-administrative-services-sas
Read the December 2020 Newsletter from the Office of Student Life.
All students are asked to read and sign the Clarkson Commitment to be vigilant in this time of the pandemic.
General Information Desk – All Locations 315/268-6400
Campus Safety & Security – 315/268-6666
Dean of Students -- 315/268-6620
Dean of Graduate School -- 518/631-9910
Residence Life -- 315/268-6642
Student Health & Counseling Center -- 315/268-6633
Student Affairs -- 315/268-6461
Student Administrative Services -- 315/268-6451
Clarkson Human Resources -- 315/268-6497
Environmental Health & Safety Manager -- 315/268-6640
COVID-19 Executive Work Group
VP for External Relations Kelly Chezum
VP Enrollment and Student Advancement Brian Grant
Chief HR Officer Amy McGaheran
Chief Information Officer Josh Fiske
Refer general COVID-19 questions and comments to: community@clarkson.edu
COVID-19 Special Scientific Advisory & Experts Group
Goodarz Ahmadi, Susan Bailey, Douglas Bohl, Deborah Brown, Suresh Dhaniyala, Byron Erath, Andrea Ferro, Matthew Manierre, Shane Rogers, Alan Rossner, Damien Samways, Craig Woodworth
Faculty and Staff
Check here for more COVID-19 related policies.
General Information Desk – All Locations 315/268-6400
Campus Safety & Security – 315/268-6666
Dean of Students -- 315/268-6620
Dean of Graduate School -- 518/631-9910
Residence Life -- 315/268-6642
Student Health & Counseling Center -- 315/268-6633
Student Affairs -- 315/268-6461
Student Administrative Services -- 315/268-6451
Clarkson Human Resources -- 315/268-6497
Environmental Health & Safety Manager -- 315/268-6640
COVID-19 Executive Work Group
VP for External Relations Kelly Chezum
VP Enrollment and Student Advancement Brian Grant
Chief HR Officer Amy McGaheran
Chief Information Officer Josh Fiske
Refer general COVID-19 questions and comments to: community@clarkson.edu
COVID-19 Special Scientific Advisory & Experts Group
Goodarz Ahmadi, Susan Bailey, Douglas Bohl, Deborah Brown, Suresh Dhaniyala, Byron Erath, Andrea Ferro, Matthew Manierre, Shane Rogers, Alan Rossner, Damien Samways, Craig Woodworth
COVID-19 Health and Safety
Click here for our COVID-19 positive test response plan.
For Spring 2021, we are using a color-coded risk alert system based on the prevalence of COVID-19 in the regional community. This includes parameters for gathering sizes and activities. Get all the details here.
General Information Desk – All Locations 315/268-6400
Campus Safety & Security – 315/268-6666
Dean of Students -- 315/268-6620
Dean of Graduate School -- 518/631-9910
Residence Life -- 315/268-6642
Student Health & Counseling Center -- 315/268-6633
Student Affairs -- 315/268-6461
Student Administrative Services -- 315/268-6451
Clarkson Human Resources -- 315/268-6497
Environmental Health & Safety Manager -- 315/268-6640
COVID-19 Executive Work Group
VP for External Relations Kelly Chezum
VP Enrollment and Student Advancement Brian Grant
Chief HR Officer Amy McGaheran
Chief Information Officer Josh Fiske
Refer general COVID-19 questions and comments to: community@clarkson.edu
COVID-19 Special Scientific Advisory & Experts Group
Goodarz Ahmadi, Susan Bailey, Douglas Bohl, Deborah Brown, Suresh Dhaniyala, Byron Erath, Andrea Ferro, Matthew Manierre, Shane Rogers, Alan Rossner, Damien Samways, Craig Woodworth
Visitors to Campus
With limited exceptions, non-essential visitors are not permitted on campus until further notice. All contractors, vendors, tenants, and other visitors (including those who may be considered essential) on campus must be approved through Human Resources first. Please complete the form here at least 72 hours prior to your anticipated need for the visitor(s) to arrive on campus.
What do we need to do to visit and tour the campus? At this time we are only able to welcome guests for on-campus visits who are traveling to Clarkson from within New York State or from contiguous states (Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Vermont). Read more, and link to our virtual tour.
- With the return of students, faculty and staff to the Clarkson Potsdam Campus, we are updating our hockey game day protocols for entry and exit to Cheel Arena. All student athletes and game day personnel will enter and exit through the Northwest side entrance. This entrance is card access only. This will allow general students, faculty and staff to use the main Cheel entrance to get food or go to class if needed and will not intermingle with student athletes or game day personnel.
- Follow the Golden Knights virtually! Click here for more information.
COVID-19 Plan for Spring 2021
We're sharing our current COVID-19 plans in a dynamic national environment subject to evolving directives and guidance from local, New York State and federal representatives as well as new best practices emerging from industry and our peers. This plan has been developed in accordance with New York Forward regulations and the specific guidance for higher education and higher education research operations.
View and Download the Clarkson University COVID-19 Spring 2021 Plan
View All Appendices to the Spring 2021 Plan
Positive COVID-19 Test Reporting on Campus
The University posts an announcement to the campus community on the same day we are notified of a positive result on a COVID-19 test for one of our faculty, staff or students. The Reopening Plan (above) submitted to NYS details the ongoing plans for testing and monitoring of Clarkson's campus community members. All students returning to campus have been required to submit a negative test result prior to their arrival and are tested again upon return. The University also is conducting random tests and uses wastewater and air monitoring surveillance in addition to immediate testing based on COVID-19 symptoms or circumstances reported on a daily screening tool.
Here are the announcements that have been posted in 2021.
COVID-19 Read: Positive Case Testing Based on Health Screen During Off-Campus Quarantine - January 15, 2021
COVID-19 Read: Positive Cases and Vaccination Update - January 12, 2021
COVID-19 Read: Positive Cases from Off-Campus Testing - January 10, 2021
COVID-19 Read: New Positive Cases - Wait for Test Results Before Resuming Campus Activities - January 7, 2021
COVID-Read: Positive Cases Reported in New Year / Review Need to Know Information to Rebuild the Bubble - January 3, 2021
COVID-19 Dashboard
Testing Administered in University Health Center by St. Lawrence Health System Since 8/1/2020.
Note: The NYS Department of Health on 9/15/20 initiated a new NYS dashboard to include data effective from 8/1/20 and this dashboard, which originally had been from the start of classes, was adjusted to match the new NYS reporting for consistency and to ensure transparency. There were 18 reported cases in the 2021 Fall Semester and all recovered. All known cases have been reported publicly on both websites.
Total Number Tested
Total Cases Recovered
(0.28%)
Total Positive Test Results
Total Current Active Cases
(99.72%)
Total Negative Test Results
Other Campus Community Members/ Testing Sites
Total Current Active Cases
Total Cases Recovered
A Safe Place to Learn
Potsdam and New York's North Country community are a unique part of the world where we genuinely look out for each other. Through diligence by many, COVID-19 in our region has been proactively managed with minimal cases.
Our 640-acre campus and its wooded nature trail system advance personal wellness and plenty of room for social distancing year round.
Students engage in innovative programs and research that provide solutions to real-world problems, such as cutting edge wastewater testing for COVID-19.
COVID-19 Vaccine Information
New York State has created a new website with COVID-19 vaccine information and a downloadable booklet that summarizes the vaccination program plan. The State has established hubs through local hospital systems to distribute vaccines in a phased approach. Clarkson University will be working with St. Lawrence Health System, which manages Clarkson’s Student Health & Counseling Center, to provide access to the vaccine. We have been asked to serve as a vaccination site for the community as well as the Potsdam campus members. The University has also shared ULT Freezers with the regional health system to appropriately store and inventory the vaccine vials.
During the 2021 spring semester, Clarkson will be strongly encouraging individuals who are eligible to receive the vaccination to get it. The University will not be requiring vaccinations for students during the spring semester.
Check this out: Rhiannon Clements ’22, double major in Biology and Communications, has started a regular newsletter, “Got Biotechnology” that translates the hottest news about recent advances in biotechnology into easy-to-read and good-to-know information. Here are her recent posts explaining the science behind the Pfizer Vaccine. Clarkson University and the author make no warranties, either express or implied, concerning the accuracy, completeness, reliability, or suitability of the information contained herein.
New York State References
NYS Supplemental Guidance for COVID-19 Containment at Higher Education Institutions as of 8/28/20
NYS interim Guidance for Higher Education as of 6/20/20
Higher Education Research Guidance as of 6/8/20
New York Forward Website for Phased Reopening Guidelines for New York State