Return-to-Better

 

Active cases
includes faculty/staff and students, both on and off campus
Recovered
includes faculty/staff and students, both on and off campus
Total
includes faculty/staff and students, both on and off campus
Last updated 05/13/2022

Total: Total number of cases (Active and Recovered) among Students, Faculty, and Staff, both on and off campus, since tracking began for the 2021-2022 academic year.
Active: Positive cases not yet recovered.
Recovered: Able to resume normal activities.

As of Friday, May 13, 2022, we have suspended tracking cases for the 2021-2022 Academic Year.

To date, no cases of COVID-19 among the community of Edgewood College have required hospitalization. 

 

 

Return to Better

We are committed to a return to classes on campus and in-person when the 2021-‘22 academic year gets underway.

Our students expect to engage with our outstanding faculty and with one another – both in and out of the classroom – and they expect to do that in-person, in one of the best college towns in America – Madison.  That's why we are committed to teaching and learning in classrooms, and in-person, this fall.

Our Return to Better Task Force is taking steps to make that happen - not to return to ‘normal,’ but to return to better, applying all the lessons we have learned and continue to learn through the experience of the pandemic.

Protocol Update - Masks Required Indoors

August 4, 2021

We are not out of this pandemic. Effective Thursday, August 5, 2021, masks are required inside campus buildings for all students, faculty, staff, and visitors. This requirement applies to everyone - those who are fully-vaccinated, and those who are not. As a valued member of the community, you will hear when this latest update to our protocol is no longer necessary. We do this for each other, because from the beginning of this pandemic, we have shown each other and Greater Madison that we live our values of Community and Compassion.

Again - getting vaccinated – for all who are eligible – is the best way to prevent the spread of COVID-19. We urge each member of our community to be vaccinated. 

-Dr. Heather Harbach
V.P. for Student Development/Dean of Students

Update

July 1, 2021

As a community we have followed the guidance of our public health professionals since the beginning of this pandemic. The CDC and the Wis. Department of Health Services recommends that all who are eligible be vaccinated against COVID-19.

Therefore, we too are strongly urging each member of our community to be vaccinated.

Students – we have created a simple form for you to update your COVID-19 vaccination status, and have sent you the link via email. You will indicate whether you have been vaccinated, whether you plan to but have not yet, or whether you do not plan to be vaccinated against COVID-19. 

Please complete this simple form now, and no later than Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2021.

There will be continued updates for students as we approach our fall semester, including some very attractive reasons for completing the form. (Did someone say ‘big scholarships?’ And ‘free parking spaces?’) Please remember to check your email often throughout the summer.

If you have any questions, please email deanofstudents@edgewood.edu. If you need assistance finding a vaccination appointment, reach out, we are here to help! 

Enjoy your summer!

-Dr. Heather Harbach
V.P. for Student Development/Dean of Students

Student, Faculty, and Staff Pledge 2020-21

Preventing the spread

In order to do everything we can to keep all of our community as safe as possible, the Edgewood College community will adhere to a number of safety protocols during the 2020-2021 Academic Year as a way of minimizing risk of the spread of COVID-19. These protocols are based on guidelines provided by Public Health Madison Dane County.

As a member of this Community, I will…

  • Wash my hands properly and regularly.
  • Cover any coughs or sneezes.
  • Comply with posted Public Health Madison Dane County requirements.  
  • Wear a mask covering my nose and mouth while in indoor spaces.
  • Maintain social distancing.
  • Assist in the use of disinfectant wipes to clean shared public workspaces prior to use.
  • Take reasonable precautions to avoid contracting COVID-19 both on- and off-campus.
  • Avoid public places and minimize interpersonal contacts if I have been exposed or have any symptoms of any illness.
  • Report any potential exposure or symptoms to the College and follow any instructions to seek medical care or to quarantine.
  • Agree to be tested for COVID-19, as prescribed by health care professionals. Agree to be cooperative and flexible as we work together to support one another and give our community the best balance of learning and safety.

COVID-19 Reporting for 2020-21

We tracked positive cases of COVID-19 beginning in August of 2020. Data includes students, faculty, and staff. This data includes both on-campus and off-campus students, faculty, and staff. We reached a peak of active cases (28) on September 19-20, 2020. 

For 2020-21, we managed a total of 171 positive cases. None of those cases are associated with on-campus transmission. No case required hospitalization, and all cases reported as recovered.

 

 

Covid-19 Updates

These pages are a resource for students, parents, and our entire community.

 

Fall 2020 Update - A Crossroads

Dear Students and Colleagues -

By now we are all aware of what has transpired at UW-Madison during the last 24 hours or so – all classes online for the next two weeks, and some students quarantined in their residence halls. The story at Edgewood College, so far, is quite different from that.

It has been 4 weeks since our first-year students started moving in, and 3 weeks since we started classes. The Dean of Students Office is doing extraordinary work—with the help and cooperation of the faculty—staying proactive in the way they handle reports of contacts or symptoms associated with COVID-19. Students are taking an active role in this process to reduce the potential for spreading the virus, which is exactly what we should all do – students, faculty, and staff alike. As a result of these cooperative efforts, we have had more than 90 students enter into our “possible case” protocols, and only a small number have actually been positive cases (as of this writing, we have three active positive cases; see our Covid-19 webpage for the most current information). Further, it is early, but it seems that our protocols and our community’s determination have inhibited the spread of the virus at Edgewood College. We are leaning on our values, and they are supporting us. 

I am proud of all of us, and I repeat (again) we have to remain vigilant. To apply a sports metaphor: we are near the end of the first quarter and we have a lead in a game we have played well so far. Let’s continue to follow our protocols and be smart and be safe by wearing our masks, washing our hands, and avoiding large gatherings. What we do off-campus is just as important as what we do on campus. Let’s keep working together so we can stay together through to the completion of the semester.

Our important work goes on because it must. I’m not going to sugar-coat this – it’s often hard to be a college student, and being a student in a global pandemic is harder. We are in what appears to be a better place than our colleagues down the street, but the virus doesn’t care if we’re a Badger or an Eagle. We can do this. We can continue to reach for and achieve our students’ educational goals. And we can do it as a community, as long as we stick together. Look out for each other, support each other, and reach out when your head and heart tell you.

Be well.

Cor ad cor loquitur.

 

Andrew P. Manion, Ph.D., President