2. Accordions and Filter RATIOS

Students have two primary choices for fall classes: hybrid and fully online classes. In online courses, all student and faculty will be participating virtually. In hybrid courses, some students may be on campus and some may be participating virtually. You may take either of these options, though understand that your classmates in hybrid courses may be in-person on campus while you participate virtually via Webflex technology.

International students, please visit the Information for International Students section for details specific to travel and immigration.

We are confident in our ability to deliver a high quality, impactful learning experience in any format and have made many of the changes necessary for this current situation by building on our nearly 20-year history of successful distance learning and innovative curriculum development. Investments nearing $9M have been made in faculty development, hardware, and software as well as safety and health preparations that will elevate the student experience. We have been charging the same per credit rate across course delivery formats for many years, as such, there are no plans for refunds or discounts in current or future courses.  While we have significant additional infrastructure and operating costs due to the pandemic, we are not increasing tuition and are not introducing any new fees to offset these special costs.

Each student who requires isolation or quarantine will be assigned a case manager, generally a senior student affairs staff member. In addition, a clinician from health services will check-in with students daily regarding their health status and symptoms. Students will need to be medically cleared by health services prior to being approved to return to campus.

No students should return without clearance from Health Services and their local board of health. If a student shooses to leave campus, they should not come back until their quarantine (14 days) or isolation (a minimum of 10 days) is completed.

With the evolving and ongoing developments related to COVID-19 combined with prioritizing the health and safety of our student-athletes and coaches, the decision was made to cancel all varsity sports competition in the fall semester. Sports impacted include men’s and women’s cross country, field hockey, men’s golf, men’s and women’s soccer, men’s and women’s tennis, and women’s volleyball.

The start of the winter sports seasons, comprised of men’s and women’s alpine skiing, men’s and women’s basketball, men’s ice hockey, and men’s and women’s swimming & diving, will be postponed until January 2021. An announcement on the status of the winter and spring sports seasons is expected sometime in the fall semester.

The decision was made in concert with our primary athletics conference, the NEWMAC. The NEWMAC Presidents Council unanimously voted to cancel the fall regular season conference schedule and championships and delay the start of the winter sports seasons until January 2021.

We will continue to explore all options of bringing teams together for competitive training, group activities and workouts while following all federal, state, NCAA and National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA) guidelines, including the NCAA’s Core Principles to Resocialization in College Sports.

Students who determine that living offcampus is in their best interest will have the opportunity to cancel their housing without penalty by July 10, 2020.  All requests must be submitted by July 10, 2020, for a cancellation to be considered without penalty.

• First-year students have the option to petition for release from the on-campus housing requirement. Should they wish to apply for this exemption, they may submit the 2020-2021 First-Year Petition to Live Off Campus Application by July 10, 2020. All applicants will be notified of the status of their petition application by the end of July. 
• Continuing/Returning students with confirmed on-campus housing for the 2020-2021 academic year may cancel their on-campus housing and meal plan without penalty until July 10, 2020. Housing Operations will be reaching out to all returning students with confirmed on-campus housing with further details.

The BRAC reopening will include a phased approach and an extensive operations plan that will closely adhere to or, in most cases, exceed institutional guidelines as well as CDC, federal, state, and local public health requirements and best practices to protect the health and safety of campus community members and visitors. Babson community members will be welcomed to BRAC beginning on August 24 with a reduced schedule from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. for our first week of operation. Hours for BRAC will be evaluated and increase with demand on the facility by students, faculty and staff.

• Isolation is designated for individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19 and who may or may not have symptoms
• Quarantine is designated for individuals who have been identified by trained contact tracers as having been in close contact with those who have tested positive for COVID-19, and who are asymptotic.
• Close contact is defined as being within six feet of an individual for at least 15 minutes, regardless of wearing a facial covering.

If a student requires isolation or quarantine, we will work with the student and their family to determine if they can safely return home or to another off-campus location for the duration of isolation/quarantine. The College has set aside designated temporary housing for students who require isolation or quarantine, but who may not be able to return home during their monitoring and recovery time. Each student would be assigned a case manager, likely Dean Travia or Dean Capozzi. Health Services will check-in with students daily, and arrangements will be made for food service and laundry pick-up. Students residing off-campus would isolate or quarantine at their place of residence.

• Babson is training faculty and hired additional instructional designers to redesign hundreds of courses for simultaneous in-person and online delivery.
• Babson has made multimillion dollar investments in technology—beginning before the pandemic—to enable students to attend classes in person or online.
• We are introducing a fully online program for first-year undergraduate students to ensure their first experience at Babson is as rich and engaging as possible.
• We are delivering a special onboarding program for all students to establish a culture of success and standards of professional performance in the context of hybrid learning. And we are preparing students for new guidelines and safety protocols as they re-enter campus.