Worcester Polytechnic Institute has moved back the start of its spring semester until late January, citing caution in light of rising coronavirus case numbers.
President Laurie Leshin, who announced the schedule change on Tuesday, said classes will now restart after winter break on Jan. 28. They will end May 13, with commencement ceremonies also pushed back, to May 20 for graduate students and May 22 for undergraduates.
The change was made in consultation with the school’s coronavirus emergency response team and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Leshin said.
“The CDC currently predicts high rates of illness and a dangerous strain on the nation’s healthcare system in December and January,” she said. “Therefore, delaying students’ return and the start of classes is the prudent thing to do and, as was the case in August, our spring reopening process will be deliberate and careful.
“This timing also gets us through the height of cold and flu season and brings us closer to warmer spring weather when our community will be able to spend more time outdoors, in fresh air, which is important in slowing the spread of [the] virus,” Leshin said, adding she hopes it could also allow for a coronavirus vaccine to begin cutting down on the spread of the virus.
WPI has conducted nearly 26,000 coronavirus tests in the past 30 days, and 62 have come back positive. The school’s positivity rate has been lower in the past seven days than the past 30, even as cases have spiked in Worcester and across Massachusetts to their highest levels yet.
As of Wednesday, WPI had 14 students either isolated or in quarantine on campus and another 31 isolated or in quarantine off campus.
