Accepted Students

While we recognize the ongoing risk that COVID-19 continues to present across the United States, here are a few of the factors unique to Hampden-Sydney that allow us to provide our students with the best opportunity to live and learn in a safe environment on campus this fall.

• Location. Our rural location in the Heart of Virginia enables us to educate our young men in a setting removed from the hustle and bustle of larger communities, and gives us confidence as we plan for a safe resumption of on-campus life in the fall.
• A lot of real estate and a small population. Our 1,330 acre campus provides more than an acre per student on which to socially distance! Seriously, with small classes and a large campus, it will be easier for us to manage the social distancing that will be required to have students back on college campuses.
• New student residences create timely flex space elsewhere on campus. A new residential complex will open this fall, allowing us a unique opportunity to have additional housing available if needed to quarantine students who develop symptoms or who need to be isolated based on their contact with someone known to have contracted the coronavirus.
• Flexibility and individual attention in teaching. Hampden-Sydney has always offered a personal approach to teaching. Our professors are used to working closely with students who become ill or who fall behind in their coursework, helping them to stay on track and successfully complete their classes. This is an ongoing commitment to our students.
• Medical staff, equipment, supplies, and testing. Showcasing the success and generosity of our powerful alumni brotherhood, an alumnus and trustee who owns a biotech firm that conducts biological surface testing for the coronavirus has offered to help us with ongoing monitoring and early detection of the virus on campus. We are also prepared to expand the services of our medical doctor and are procuring PPE and other supplies for our professional medical staff to use in assisting students and to support additional healthcare needs next year. Our staff continues to receive and follow guidance from the Virginia Department of Health and CDC as circumstances and best practices change.

These are just some of the advantages that will help us be positioned for a safe opening in the fall. We are working closely with state and local governments as we prepare to provide a safe environment in which to live, learn, and work. If you are concerned about the effects of the coronavirus on the large or urban campus that you may have chosen, or if you are looking for an campus-based personalized learning experience, then I hope you will consider the advantages our small, rural, idyllic college campus can offer.

Following Governor Northam’s release of the Commonwealth’s guidelines for the reopening of Virginia’s colleges and universities, Hampden-Sydney College has submitted an expansive campus reopening plan to the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV). Created by the College’s Critical Incident Management Team and the College’s senior staff, the plan is currently being reviewed by SCHEV. We will keep it updated as we monitor the situation and receive additional guidance from the Commonwealth, the Department of Health, and the Centers for Disease Control.