Embry-Riddle Announces a Phased Reopening Strategy

Please also review Dr. Butler's presentation. 

Dear faculty, students and staff:

Thank you for your continuing commitment to academic success and service, and your collective ability to innovate solutions over the past two months. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University has faced this historic challenge head-on. Each of you have stepped up to the bat and delivered, remembering our mission to provide high-quality education. Faculty and staff swiftly migrated classes and student services online. Facilities and grounds remain in top shape, and safety and health services are being provided despite difficult circumstances. 

Embry-Riddle’s residential campuses will be open in the fall. To ensure a safe reopening, we are restarting basic operations over the summer. As we navigate this transition, we are leveraging a ” strategycrawl, walk, runthree-phase “. 

In early May, with the easing of stay-at-home orders by the governors of Arizona and Florida, we are resuming flight operations, limited to students nearing key milestones. Staffing will be limited, and we will focus on providing a clean, safety-conscious work environment. 

Additionally, we are pre-screening returning students and requiring a complete, 14-day isolation period for anyone with risk factors, such as anyone arriving from a Covid-19 hotspot. Students, staff and faculty will wear face coverings (indoors and outdoors) and visible ID badges when they are in common areas on campus. Daily temperature checks are mandatory, without exception. We will also enforce CDC social distancing guidelines (remaining six feet apart), and protective barriers will be in place to limit personal contact during transactions.

We have provided housing on both residential campuses to 200 students since the onset of the health crisis. By mid-May, we will make low-density housing available to eligible flight students. We have an isolation plan, including suites with individual HVAC units. Flight students living off-campus must agree to all health requirements, including face coverings and social distancing, when on campus.

We will open residence halls to non-flight students who meet health requirements, with priority for those enrolled in Summer B courses. Students will have the option of limited, take-out style dining services.

Summer B term (beginning June 30) will re-introduce in-person instruction to non-flight students. Students and faculty will wear face coverings and visible ID badges in class. We are limiting classroom capacity to allow for social distancing. Our class schedules will prevent large groups from congregating in common spaces, and we have a visitor check-in process to keep our campus populations restricted in these early stages.  

On August 24, we will welcome students back, with health precautions in place, as guided by state, federal and medical experts.

Throughout this health crisis, I have been deeply proud of the creativity, commitment and resilience of Embry-Riddle students, staff and faculty. Your Eagle spirit has repeatedly inspired and sustained me. I look forward to being reunited with you on our campuses. 

Sincerely, 

P. Barry Butler, Ph.D.