COVID-Related Updates for This Week

Rockhurst Student, Faculty and Staff Companions,

We have officially passed the midway point of the fall semester! The fact that we are still together and holding classes face to face is a testament to the diligence and hard work of many in our community and is something to feel good about. Along with the COVID-19 numbers, today we’re sharing helpful information for students.

Midterm Grades and Support Services

Midterm grades were just released and if you are a student who is discouraged, please know that you have time for improvement before the end of the semester and the University has resources to help you – free of charge. The Aylward-Dunn Learning Center offers tutoring, writing tutoring, supplemental instruction and more for both undergraduate and graduate students. If you are struggling academically, please reach out to Center staff through email or a phone call. They are ready to help you and you can even make virtual appointments. We also encourage you to reach out to your instructor. They reserve time each week exclusively to meet with students (i.e., their “office hours”), so please make time to engage with your instructor regardless of your midterm grade. They really want to get to know you and your aspirations.

Hawks Email Accounts

We have noticed recently that students are good about checking messages in Canvas but may not be monitoring their official Rockhurst email accounts on a consistent basis. Please check your Rockhurst email daily so that you won’t miss important COVID-19 updates such as this and other messages central to your student experience. And, yes, we realize we are sending this to your Rockhurst email account! 

Positive and Quarantined Cases

We are currently Level 3 (Orange) out of four levels, which simply means there is one or more active cases on campus.

In general, our numbers continue to decrease across most categories and populations. For undergraduate students on the Troost campus, the percent of active COVID cases has decreased from 0.7% to 0.5%. The percent of quarantined cases has increased slightly from 0.8% to 1.0% over the past week. There are no graduate student cases on either campus this week. There was a decrease in faculty and staff overall cases on both campuses.

As of Oct. 20  

*Three of the undergraduate positive cases are in University residential facilities. The number of beds available on campus for isolation is 46 and the number of occupied beds is one.

Definitions

• COVID Active: tested positive for COVID; isolated
• Quarantined: had close contact with a COVID-positive person; possibly being tested
• Close Contact: You were within 6 feet of someone who has COVID-19 for a total of 15 minutes or more; You provided care at home to someone who is sick with COVID-19; You had direct physical contact with the person (hugged or kissed them); You shared eating or drinking utensils; They sneezed, coughed, or somehow got respiratory droplets on you

Be good to yourselves as we begin the second half of the fall semester!

Sincerely, 

Matthew D. Quick, Ph.D.  
Dean of Students/Vice President  
Student Development and Athletics  
  
Douglas N. Dunham, Ph.D.  
Provost and Senior Vice President  
Academic Affairs