Dordt Begins Academic Year at Yellow Alert Level

As of Tuesday, August 25 at 8 a.m., Dordt University will begin the 2020-21 academic year on a yellow alert level. Dordt has been at the green alert level since mid-August, but the institution will begin classes at a yellow alert level because of increased local community spread as well as having 9 early arrival students who tested positive for COVID-19. These students are in isolation off-campus.

“Please pray for these students as they go through the recovery process,” says Dr. Erik Hoekstra, president of Dordt University. “We planned for this, and our plan is working. What we do as a campus community in the next two weeks is very important to maintain in-person classes. Please wear your mask, stay six feet away from others, and keep your conversations to 10 minutes. This will keep students from needing to quarantine and will help mitigate spread.”

For a yellow alert level, Dordt will implement the following operations:

• The Rec Center and the Hulst Library are closed to the public.
• There is face-to-face instruction for healthy personnel and online instruction for students who are in quarantine or isolation.
• Class sizes may be restricted.
• There are heightened precautions for residence hall living.
• There will be restricted attendance with social distancing at mass gatherings such as chapel and athletic events.
• Co-curricular practices and events will be subject to cancellation.

To learn more about the alert levels, please visit Covid-19 Updates.

Employees, students, and campus visitors, please continue to practice physical distancing, masking, hand washing, and limiting your in-person interactions to 10 minutes. By adhering to these practices, Dordt hopes to eventually return to the green alert level status.

Dordt will maintain its on-campus masking requirement, encouraging all students, employees, and campus visitors to wear masks both indoors and outdoors from Friday, August 21, through Sunday, August 30. The only exception is that employees will not need to wear masks when working in their own office or if their workspace has a plexiglass shield in place. Students do not need to wear masks in their dorm rooms or in their own apartments.

As an institution of higher education committed to the Reformed Christian perspective, Dordt University equips students, faculty, alumni, and the broader community to work toward Christ-centered renewal in all aspects of contemporary life. For four years in a row, Dordt has been named number one in the nation for student engagement by The Wall Street Journal and Times Higher Education. Located in Sioux Center, Iowa, Dordt is a comprehensive university named to the best college lists by U.S. News and World Report, Forbes.com, Washington Monthly, and Princeton Review. To learn more, visit dordt.edu.