Slippery Rock University will hold only virtual classes through January to accommodate an expansive regimen for testing students for COVID-19.

In a letter sent to students, faculty and staff Friday, Bill Behre, university president, outlined the college's approach for a safe return to in-person instruction in the spring 2021 semester, describing the plan as a “deliberate and measured approach” to ensure health and wellness on campus.

“As I have said since the onset of this pandemic, the university is committed to doing all it can to maximize the safety and well-being of all members of our community,” Behre's letter stated. “Providing testing is part of our continued efforts to honor this commitment.”

From Jan. 12 through Jan. 31, classes will be wholly online, which Behre said allows the college to start its testing regimen.

That regimen includes testing on-campus residents twice in their first week on campus, followed by once every other week; off-campus residents will be tested before returning to in-person classes Feb. 1 and will likewise see follow-up tests every two weeks.

Student-athletes will see a stricter testing schedule, having to be tested prior to on-campus practices and in-person meetings, which begin Feb. 1, and will face follow-up tests every week.

Behre said other groups “with the potential for substantial close contact” will also undergo tests weekly.

In the second phase of Slippery Rock's spring semester, which begins Feb. 1, all students who use any campus facility will take a COVID-19 test every other week. Students will follow the in-person attendance policies laid out by their course syllabi, and student-athletes will participate in practices at the direction of coaches and trainers.

“Testing is central to a prevention strategy that could allow for a traditional fall 2021 semester and is part of our university's commitment to health and safety,” Behre's letter said.

These tests will be provided to Slippery Rock students free of charge and will be conducted by the university's Student Health Services, according to the letter. They are saliva-based polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, tests, which detect the presence of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

Behre's letter stated the results of these tests can typically be returned within three days, and said the PCR tests amplify the amount of viral genetic material in a sample such that infection can be detected if it is present.

Slippery Rock partnered with Shippensburg University to process the tests, as the latter university has established a laboratory dedicated solely to processing COVID-19 test samples.

While Behre detailed the university's plan in his Friday letter, he did note that it was subject to change — as with seemingly all else in the modern age.

“As we have from the start, we will remain flexible and adjust to any developments with the virus and changes in county, state and federal health guidelines,” the letter reads.

Since Aug. 20, the university reports on its website, 248 students and 37 faculty and staff have tested positive for COVID-19, a slim percentage of the roughly 8,500 undergraduate and graduate students enrolled at Slippery Rock.