Most activities at USU will be in-person starting this fall
Utah State University will return to a primarily in-person campus for classes and activities for the fall 2021 semester.
“We are anticipating fall semester back in the classroom, and we are all looking forward to being able to offer a more traditional Aggie experience,” USU President Noelle Cockett said in a statement. “Our campus community has shown enormous resilience over the last year of the pandemic, and now we are very much looking forward to being together again on campus.”
The plan is to open up most classes, at least 75%, to in-person learning. According to USU public information officer Emilie Wheeler, the university is still considering other options to provide flexibility for students.
“We will be considering whether or not to add a Zoom component to these courses,” she said.
However, it is expected that some classes will return to their traditional format, only.
It is still to be determined whether masks and social distancing will be required for the fall. According to Wheeler, at a minimum, USU will continue to follow guidelines from state health officials. She added that there will be more conversation from the Utah Board of Higher Education on those issues in the coming weeks.
Fall registration is also shifting to May 20-25. Wheeler said departments need more time to arrange their classes for the fall semester.
“So many faculty members have had to change their formats this past year,” she said. “They need time to transition back to their regular sessions.”
Although USU will not require students or employees to be vaccinated, they are highly recommending everyone do so. Wheeler said this is in-line with most public institutions; no public college or university is going to require their students or employees to vaccinate.
However, if someone is nervous about coming to a campus where there is no vaccination requirement, she anticipates they can speak with an advisor or faculty member and work out their concerns.
Wheeler said they will be actively watching case counts and infection rates over the next few months. The university is prepared to change plans quickly, however, if they feel their current plans are not safe for students.
She also said discussions about sports were not included in the re-opening conversation. However, she anticipates that attendance for all games and sporting events will look similar to how they were structured this year, if not better.
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