Help Change Lives 
Hamilton College believes in-person instruction, delivered as safely as we reasonably can, is the best way to prepare our students for lives of meaning, purpose, and active citizenship.We’re grateful for the care and concern demonstrated by our students, faculty, and staff for each other in the fall semester, and we are relying on that spirit of generosity and cooperation again throughout the spring. This website outlines the steps we are taking to protect the health and safety of our community for the spring 2021 semester. It considers the recommendations of experts and incorporates what worked well in the fall. The website may be modified as new information becomes available and new best practices are identified.
Latest Updates Dashboard Safety Checklist
Modified operating levels guide the safe operation of the College during the semester and are determined by government directives, prevalence of the virus in the region, and related factors. Each operating level takes into account the status of the College’s educational mission, students in residence, employee staffing, campus services, and the availability of facilities. The color-coded Alert Level Guide informs the College’s operating status by considering the number of positive cases of COVID-19, the number in quarantine, the availability of testing, the ability to deliver the academic program and essential services, and other factors.
Below is our current status for the Spring 2021 semester. Fall 2020 statistics are also available.
For clarifications on the terminology used below, please see our data definitions.
On-campus students are currently being tested three times per week.
On-campus employees are currently being tested twice per week if they interact with students, once per week otherwise.
All numbers above reflect testing administered by Hamilton College for students and employees currently living or working on campus.
Hamilton College is in the Mohawk Valley Region of New York State.
For more information about COVID-19 in our region, please visit the Oneida County COVID-19 Dashboard.
Please contact the Dean of Students Office at dosdept@hamilton.edu or 315-859-4020. Media inquiries should be directed to Vige Barrie, vbarrie@hamilton.edu.
Students - All students that are residing in on-campus housing during the current term.
Employees - All employees that have been on campus within 7 days of being tested. In this case, employee numbers include contractors and temporary workers.
New Cases - The number of individuals that tested positive on the given date.
Active Cases - The number of individuals currently in isolation due to having tested positive.
Resolved Cases - The number of individuals that are no longer in isolation due to having tested positive.
Total Cases - Total number of cases since tracking began (active plus resolved).
Positive Test - A test result that indicates the person has tested positive for the COVID-19 virus (not the antibody).
Test Results - Includes test results returned from on campus testing by Hamilton College in partnership with the Broad Institute.
Third Party Cases - Positive tests reported from testing sources other than Hamilton College. Third party cases are only reported when Human Resources is notified, and the individual was on campus during the exposure period.
Average Return - The average number of hours between the test being administered and the results being reported.
Positivity Rate - Percentage of individuals testing positive out of total test results returned.
Quarantine - A person is placed in quarantine if they have close contact with an individual that has tested positive. This number reflects students placed in quarantine due to testing administered by Hamilton College, and does not reflect arrival or state quarantines.
* Quarantine Beds - Number of quarantine beds managed by Hamilton College (includes occupied and available). The College may expand inventory as necessary.
Quarantine % Open - Percentage of quarantine beds that are NOT occupied by someone in quarantine.
Hamilton has relied on a number of resources to develop its response to the coronavirus pandemic:
The spring semester begins later than usual and will not include a spring break, but the revised calendar includes two wellness days with no classes.
Feb. 1: Spring semester classes begin
Mar. 3: Wellness day
Apr. 6: Wellness day
May 11: Classes end
May 12 and 13: Reading days
May 14 to 18: Final exams
