Return to Campus Newsletter

Dear Faculty, Staff and Students, 

As residential students move into residence halls this week, we’re continuing to move closer to Monday’s start of the fall trimester. Testing has gone smoothly for our new arrivals to campus thanks to the efforts of our Health Center and Screening Test Program staff. This week’s updates include the launch of our COVID-19 Testing Dashboard and a new process for accessing buildings on campus.

COVID-19 Testing Dashboard
To provide full transparency and keep the Bentley community informed, we have created a COVID-19 Testing Dashboard that shares data on the total number of tests conducted on campus and the positive test rate compared to the City of Waltham and Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The health and safety of our students, faculty and staff is paramount. Tracking these data will help to continue to guide our decision-making throughout the fall. With the help of this new tool, I’ll be including the latest data from our screening program in each weekly update moving forwarding.

Accessing Buildings on Campus
To ensure the health and safety of the on-campus population, all buildings will be converted to card access for the fall trimester. That means that all students, faculty and staff will be required to have their Bentley ID on them at all times. Making buildings accessible by ID only will help to ensure building occupants are participants in our public health interventions and will continue to promote a safe environment for our on-campus population. Some exceptions will be made, such as the Student Center, and will remain open without card access.

If you misplaced your ID, you can request a new one here and should do so as soon as possible. Once your new ID is ready, University Police will contact you by email to let you know when and where your ID can be picked up. If you are unable to access a building that you need to enter on campus, you may contact Melissa Diglio in University Police at mdiglio@bentley.edu. If after hours, you can call the University Police non-emergency line at 781-891-2201.

Daily Self-Check Reminder
It’s required that you conduct a daily self-check for any symptoms that may be related to COVID-19 before coming to campus and at the start of each shift. There are many possible symptoms, so this checklist has been compiled to help easily identify them. Be sure to be mindful of this checklist each day to identify the onset of any possible symptoms of COVID-19. Doing so will help to ensure you can take the right steps for your health and to limit spread in the event that you may have contracted the virus. 

Back to Bentley Videos
Last week, I shared the Back to Bentley video series that offers a preview of what campus will look like this fall. If you haven’t already, be sure to check them out as they provide a quick and informative way to digest important information.

As always, continue to check the Back to Bentley website for any new content as students begin to arrive.

Until next week,
Geoff

Geoffrey C. Bartlett, CEM
Director of Emergency Management