Embry-Riddle University to Resume Face-to-Face Learning as of June 30.

Written by Kristen Schmutz

Belden Communications News

The Board of Trustees for Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University announced this morning, that both residential campuses in Florida and Arizona, will be resuming face-to-face learning as of June 30, 2020. 

“With health precautions in place, Embry-Riddle will resume face-to-face instruction, in keeping with its Path Forward strategy,” President P. Barry Butler announced today. 

Embry-Riddle, as the world’s leading aviation and aerospace institution, is building on its rigorous safety culture to launch innovative learning solutions amid the global pandemic and fulfill its mission of education. Some key elements of Embry-Riddle’s Summer B plan include these and other precautions: 

• The university will rigorously adhere to all federal, state, and local guidance.
• Classroom capacity will be limited to ensure physical distancing (six feet of separation).
• Class schedules will be optimized to minimize contact.
• Returning students will be pre-screened for risk factors.
• Cloth face coverings are mandatory in all common areas on campus, indoors, and outdoors.
• Daily wellness checks and physical distancing are also mandatory.
• Plexiglass barriers and “smart” pathways help reduce contact between individuals.
• Residence hall occupancy and density are limited.
• Sanitizers are readily available, and everyone is urged to maintain a personal supply, too.
• No one can return to campus if they have recently been sick, in contact with someone who is sick, on a cruise, or in any designated Covid-19 hotspot, without appropriate quarantine, screening and/or testing.
• Visible ID badges must be worn at all times.
• All visitors as well as returning students must check in first at the Henderson Welcome Center on the Daytona Beach Campus, or the Visitors Center on the Prescott Campus. 

To view examples of how the university has structured low-density, safety-conscious learning environments and procedures, watch Embry-Riddle’s videos on flight check-in and aircraft sanitation procedures. 

Also, Dr. Butler’s Path Forward presentation spells out Embry-Riddle’s rationale and risk assessment as well as the solutions that were engineered to keep the university community healthy. A best practice guide is also available online.