HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Marshall University students will be required to follow coronavirus procedures once classes begin on Aug. 24 or face removal from campus.
The university is requiring multiple actions to protect the campus community from the coronavirus, including face coverings in university buildings, conducting health checks and reporting results through the MarshallU Healthcheck app, and maintaining six feet between people at all times.
The rules come as Marshall University and other institutions prepare for the fall semester, which has been affected by the virus.
“We are all going to have to be in this together,” Director of Student Conduct Lisa Martin said during a town hall last week.
The first formal strike will be a formal warning and a required meeting with the Office of Student Conduct, and the second strike will result in students taking part in an online class. A third strike could result in removal from campus.
“That is not our goal,” Martin said of the third punishment. “Our goal is to educate everyone and make sure the campus stays safe. We want to make sure everyone is following our guidelines, and that includes our professors and our faculty.”
Martin said students, faculty and others can report people who are not violating guidelines through an online portal. Individuals can anonymously report violations.
“We’re not saying that everybody is going to tattle on everybody, but we have to have everyone stay safe,” she said. “We don’t want to get you here and then say everyone has to go home because we are not following the guidelines.”
Freshmen, some graduate and most professional students will have their courses on campus and in-person, while other undergraduates will take part in virtual classes.