Community Update December 22, 2020

As we prepare for the Christmas holiday, things are calm and quiet on campus in Boiling Springs. While many of our students are now back at home, we still have dozens of students with us on campus. Regardless of where you are, let us all continue to follow the guidelines: wearing masks, washing hands, and keeping an appropriate social distance.

Current COVID-19 Numbers

As of today, December 22, Gardner-Webb has no positive cases of COVID-19 in isolation on campus. We also have no residential undergraduate students who have tested positive and are in isolation at home.  We have one commuter/graduate student who has tested positive for COVID-19 and is in isolation at home.

One residential undergraduate student is presently in quarantine on campus, and a second residential undergraduate student is in quarantine at home.  There are no commuter or graduate students in quarantine at home.  

Among our faculty there are no positive cases of COVID-19.  One staff member is positive with COVID-19 and in isolation at home, while a further nine staff members are in quarantine waiting to be tested or waiting for test results.

Changes to Campus Return

As a reminder, the first day of classes on campus has been moved out by a single week. Instead of campus classes starting Wednesday, January 6, they will now start Wednesday, January 13. The semester will remain the same length, as we will teach through Spring Break, March 8-12. Classes will be held every day that week.

All students returning to campus in January for class, including commuters, must be tested for COVID-19 before they return to their residence halls or before attending class.

Individual student ID cards, which include residence hall access, will not be activated until a negative test is received. All residential students also need to schedule an ID Card Reactivation Time Block. If you have not already done so, please log-in to your Housing Self Service Portal in Webb Connect and select an ID Card Reactivation Time Block. If you have questions please contact [email protected]. Student-athletes reporting before January 10, 2021 will be notified of their process by Athletics.

Free on-campus COVID-19 testing will be conducted January 10 and 12, from 10:00 am until 5:00 pm, and on January 11 from 9:00am until 5:00pm. Student-athletes will be tested at the Football Center, and all other students will be tested inside in the LYCC on the second floor (please note:  the testing location has moved since our last communication from the LYCC parking lot to the second floor). These are Rapid-Tests and will only take approximately 20 minutes to complete. These tests will be performed on a first-come, first-served basis.  

These Rapid-Tests are required for all students returning to campus for class unless:

• You provide documentation at time of check-in of a negative COVID-19 test in the 72 hours prior to returning to campus or,
• You provide documentation at time of check-in of a positive COVID-19 test in the 90 days prior to returning to campus.

A positive Rapid-Test returned on January 10, 11 or 12 will require immediate isolation either on campus or by returning home.

2020 Student Support

Since the pandemic began in early 2020, Gardner-Webb University has worked hard to keep students, faculty and staff not only on campus, but also on course to complete all of our educational goals. A big part of that work involved keeping costs down, especially for our most at-risk students and families.

Since the beginning of the year, Gardner-Webb has provided over $3.2 million to support and protect the campus community.  More than 90% of that $3.2 million went directly to students and families impacted by the pandemic. All remaining dollars were spent on personal protective equipment for the campus community and on critical technical infrastructure items necessary for transitioning classes to online platforms.

As we end 2020, a year like nothing we’ve experienced before, we are grateful that we remained together…on campus, healthy, and focused—as always—on maximizing student success. In spite of the myriad changes and challenges, we made it through…successfully.  Thank you!

Finally, we would be remiss if we didn’t take this opportunity to yet again congratulate all of our December graduates.  Welcome to the Alumni family!

Merry Christmas, Bulldogs! Stay safe, have fun, and we’ll see you in January!