COVID-19 Community Guide

The health and wellbeing of our community and the neighbors with whom we interact are our top priority. This website serves as the central information hub to keep all members of our community informed of updates, policies, and protocols on the evolving circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.

Safe Campus Reopening

The New School is planning for a robust in‑person student experience both inside and outside the classroom starting in fall 2021 and beyond. With safety protocols remaining in place and our commitment to caring for our community, we anticipate returning to on-campus teaching and learning, reopening all residence halls, resuming dining services, and expanding access to other campus spaces and facilities. The university's COVID Coordination Group leads the university’s return to campus planning.

Please keep in mind:  

• All community members must participate in The New School’s ongoing testing program.
• Check your clearance status BEFORE coming to campus. Log into shsportal.newschool.edu and click the red "Show Badge" button on the home screen to display your clearance badge. If you see a green screen that reads, "Campus Access Granted" you are cleared for access. If your badge is red, check the Medical Clearances section on the SHS Portal to see what is causing the red badge.
• The university has created a data dashboard that will provide direct and valuable updates about the vaccination, testing, and positivity rates on our campus.
• Wear a mask at all times while inside campus buildings. There are designated areas across campus for eating and drinking.

Guiding Principles

Our plan for a phased reopening of on-campus activities is guided by three core principles:

• Protecting the health and safety of the entire New School community — students, faculty, and staff — and the neighbors with whom we interact.
• Maintaining the highest-quality teaching, learning, research, and cultural expression in every college, department, and specialty.
• Ensuring equitable access to classes and other learning activities for all students.

Our Shared Responsibility 

Taking steps to minimize the risk of COVID-19 infection is a shared responsibility and every member of our community must do their part to help keep each other safe. It is our goal to address non-compliance without escalation. Repeated or egregious disregard for university policies and procedures will be escalated to Human Resources for employees or the Office of Student Conduct for students. 

Departmental COVID-19 Coordinators

Faculty and staff can reach out to the following community members with questions about our fall 2021 health and safety protocols:

• Academic Affairs (including individual colleges): Provost@newschool.edu
• Business & Operations (including Finance, Facilities, and IT): Thomas Whalen, whalent@newschool.edu 
• Enrollment Management and Strategic Partnerships: Eren Hock, hocke@newschool.edu
• Human Resources, General Counsel, and Development & Alumni Engagement: Andrea Yenco Cabatotan, yencoa@newschool.edu
• Marketing & Communications, Continuing and Professional Education: Amy Malsin, malsina@newschool.edu
• Student Success: Susan Austin, AustinS@newschool.edu
  

Future Updates

This page will be updated on a regular basis as we finalize our plans for the coming academic year. The university’s COVID Coordination Group will continue to monitor the trajectory of the pandemic, especially virus prevalence in New York City, and we will share an update about our health and safety protocols by October 15, including our policies regarding campus visitors and masking for those who are vaccinated.  

In addition, the message feed on this page features community announcements from the president and/or provost of The New School.