Over the past year, leaders at Radford University have made it their mission to get enrollment up, and with recent reports, it looks like they are headed in the right direction.

October is the first month in three years borrowers are required to make a payment on their student loan.

SALEM, Va. – Change is coming to Roanoke College as the result of a Title IX investigation. On Tuesday, the college announced that both Dean of Students Bian Chisom and interim head baseball coach Cam Cassady are no longer with the school. Chisom has resigned, while Cassady is simply no longer with Roanoke College. Roanoke College leaders announced earlier this year they would open an investigation into concerns alleging misconduct by the school’s former Title IX Coordinator. While the report stated that Roanoke College’s Title IX written policy itself meets legal standards, aspects of its implementation did not meet the College’s expectations or standards for the treatment of its students.

SALEM, Va. – Leaders at Roanoke College shared an update Wednesday regarding the school’s Title IX investigation. In a letter to the Roanoke College community, president Michael Maxey said the independent third-party investigator, Karen Michael Esq., submitted the final investigative report last week. Roanoke College leaders announced earlier this year they would open an investigation into concerns alleging conduct by the school’s former Title IX Coordinator. Maxey said Michael, who has no prior affiliation with Roanoke College, interviewed roughly 80 witnesses. Michael shared the report with Roanoke College’s executive committee of the Board of Trustees, including the chairman of the Board.

LEXINGTON, Va. – Like many colleges and universities across our area, Virginia Military Institute is focusing on keeping the campus and greater community safe while some of their own recover from COVID-19. As of Friday, VMI was reporting 42 active COVID-19 cases, with almost 200 cadets in quarantine. School leaders said the uptick is mostly due to the close quarters of the barracks. School leaders are still discussing whether cadets can go home for the Thanksgiving holiday. They’re expected to make a decision in the next few weeks.

RADFORD, Va. – Leaders at Radford University are giving students, staff and community members a better look at what the spring 2021 semester will look like as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. University leaders shared a detailed campus operational plan for the spring semester on Tuesday evening. University leaders said testing will be required for students returning from COVID-19 hot spots. The current gathering limitation of 10 people will continue during the spring semester, according to university officials. As the end of this fall semester, the university is offering free exit COVID-19 testing for students during finals week on Radford University’s main campus and at Radford University Carilion in Roanoke.

RICHMOND, Va. – Enrollment at Virginia’s colleges and universities declined 1.3% this year. The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia said there are 6,658 fewer students at Virginia’s public and private institutions of higher education this fall. The biggest drop was at community colleges, where enrollment fell 10%. Private schools had an increase mainly because of large gains made by Liberty University. The enrollment figures illustrate the durability of colleges and universities despite the daunting economic challenges of the pandemic.

HARRISONBURG, Va. – After nearly two weeks of temporary online classes, JMU is planning to bring students back to campus soon. JMU announced on Friday that school officials are currently finalizing plans to resume in-person classes on Oct. 5. Students began moving into on-campus housing on Aug. 21 and hybrid classes started on Aug. 26. JMU also said it is limiting the number of students in a class to 50 people for in-person classrooms. However, testing will be initially focused on on-campus students and they will not be testing students prior to returning to the classroom.

LYNCHBURG, Va. Some students at the University of Lynchburg were relieved to be in the classroom Monday after two weeks of online learning. Its hard to do nursing online. The trio has been cautious in their on-campus house after they were forced to stay in because of a COVID-19 outbreak on campus. For instance, the outbreak on campus wasnt caused by large gatherings, but in the residential halls where students may have let their guards down. We havent experienced what theyve experienced at many institutions where large gatherings have students resulted in many positive cases several days later.

HARRISONBURG, Va. James Madison University will temporarily transition to online learning with few exceptions through the month of September. In a statement released Tuesday, university president Jonathan Alger said most in-person classes will transition online by Monday. JMU initially started the academic year with a mix of in-person, hybrid and online classes. We spent the last several months planning to start this year with a mix of in-person, hybrid, and online classes. In-person classes will transition online no later than this coming Monday, Sept. 7.

RADFORD, Va. – Leaders at Radford University suspended a fraternity, along with eight of its members, for what university leaders said are COVID-19 violations related to “endangering conduct by hosting off-campus gatherings.”Theta Chi’s Iota Zeta chapter is suspended from the university on an interim basis, effective immediately, university leaders announced Thursday. University leaders said the fraternity admitted to hosting gatherings and is also suspected of “ridiculing” people who follow public health guidance and wear face coverings. University leaders contacted the national Theta Chi office about Iota Zeta’s actions, which could result in more sanctions on the national level. Read the full statement from Radford University below:“Today, Radford University announced the interim suspension of Theta Chi Fraternity – Iota Zeta Chapter. The University has notified the national office regarding the specific actions of the local chapter and the eight members.

BLACKSBURG, Va. Monday marked the first day back in class at Virginia Tech for a fall semester like no other. After seven students were suspended last week, the university is taking a stricter stance and clarified its COVID-19 policies over the weekend to include:No non-university sanctioned gatherings, on or off-campus, larger than 15 people. Radford University suspended three students. And that is why we need everyone to do their part, said Radford University Associate Vice President for University Relations, Caitlyn Scaggs. Those people not following those guidelines, obviously, are going to ruin it for the rest of us, said Renner.

BLACKSBURG, Va. Some Virginia Tech students are raising concerns after a picture spread on social media showing a classroom over capacity and not allowing social distance. He (the professor) definitely said that well break the rules today, said the Virginia Tech student who took the picture and posted it. Breaking the rules is exactly what dozens of Virginia Tech students saw in a classroom Monday, raising questions as the picture hit social media and quickly went viral. We are still in a slightly crazy time and I know I wouldnt trust being that close to somebody, Virginia tech student Rahul Gupta said. I dont want to be shut down so I definitely think that we really do need to follow the rules, Virginia tech student Julia Desocio said.

RADFORD, Va. Gatherings of more than ten people are now banned on Radford Universitys campus. In a letter to students released Tuesday, university leaders said the gathering limitation is effective immediately for the main campus. The limitation was put in place after university leaders and the Virginia Department of Health attributed an overwhelming majority of the positive cases among students to two unrecognized fraternity parties and one other large gathering. All three gatherings happened off campus, they said. University leaders said they will be monitoring compliance for all main campus students in both on-campus and off-campus environments.

A Radford University freshman recently experienced the ups and downs of testing positive while on campus. Faith Minton eventually received a positive COVID-19 result. Radford University officials acknowledge these tough changes, saying they will continue to “provide support for students as everyone adjusts to expectations,” but say the moves are necessary to keep everyone safe. North Carolina State University, The University of North Carolina Chapel Hill and Bluefield College are altering their plans. Radford University is working diligently to provide customized support to individual students.”Click here to read their full COVID-19 response plan.

LYNCHBURG, Va. Students at Liberty University start classes on Monday and university leaders say theyre prepared to handle a COVID-19 outbreak on campus if there is one. School leaders asked students and staff to answer survey questions about potential exposure before coming back to campus. Theres a quarantine site not too far from campus and the universitys IT department has launched an app for contact tracing. Right now, the school is waiting for its rapid testing equipment. As of Wednesday, Liberty officials said no one had tested positive for COVID-19.

Radford University hopes to continue in-person classes all semester. “It’s odd, I mean, especially with the classes changing and with so many classes online, the environment, just everybody wearing masks,” said Radford student Dylan Lepore. According to university spokesperson Caitlyn Scaggs, Radford has several factors to consider when it comes to transitioning to online learning. Scaggs said the university is aiming to stay at its current reopening phase through the end of the semester. Scaggs said the university created its reopening plan with flexibility in place to transition online learning if need be.

Before students return to campus this fall, colleges and universities across Virginia are working out how to screen for COVID-19 and continue to test throughout the year. Hollins University is planning self-health screenings before arrival, delaying students’ return to campus if they’re symptomatic, extending the number of move-in days to increase social distancing and testing all symptomatic students. The 9,000 students living on campus can get tested on move-in days through the on-campus health care center. According to Radford University’s plan, student-athletes, resident assistants and students returning from hot spots are expected to be tested. The University of Lynchburg won’t be able to test all 4,000 students and staff upon return, but is requiring daily symptom monitoring.

FARMVILLE, Va. – A student at Longwood University was tested for the new coronavirus (COVID-19) and received a “presumptive positive” result, the university announced Wednesday. University officials say the student will continue to self-quarantine while waiting for the CDC to confirm the positive test. This student has relatively mild symptoms and is a family contact of a presumptive positive COVID-19 case from another region of Virginia, according to Piedmont Health District officials. The student has been in quarantine since March 9, and had just arrived to the Longwood campus on March 8, 2020. The Virginia Department of Health believes that even with the presumptive positive result, “there remains a low generalized risk" to the Longwood community, according to university officials.

University leaders say degrees will be conferred on time in May and diplomas will be mailed this summer, in accordance with the standard university process. (1/4) — JMU (@JMU) March 18, 2020ORIGINAL STORYAnother local university is adjusting operations during the new coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. Starting on March 23, university officials say most classes will be held online until at least April 5. The university will stay open to provide student services, including those provided by the University Health Center and Counseling Center. University officials say there will be another update by at least March 27 regarding the plan of action after April 5.