Classes at the University of Connecticut are planned to resume on August 31, with a range of online, in-person and a blend of both, being offered. The residence halls at the Storrs and Stamford classes will be open with reduced density, according to an email sent to students from President Thomas Katsouleas Wednesday morning.
The plan calls for students to not return to campus following Thanksgiving break, and all classes and final exams will be online for the remainder of the semester.
Classrooms will be modified to allow for six feet of separation between people, according to the email.
“We will have strong provisions in place to make the classroom environment as safe as possible,” Katsouleas said. “But we will be able to ensure that students and faculty who want an exclusively online experience can have that.”
Students returning to reside on campus will be required to return approximately two weeks before the start of classes to be tested for COVID-19 and for a quarantine period.
“Students do not need to reapply for housing,” Katsouleas said .”We will also set aside dedicated space should we need to isolate any students during the semester who fall ill.”
Housing assignments will be communicated to students in July, according to UConn’s reopening website, and housing and dining fees will be unchanged.
All dining halls on campus will remain open, but available only for take-out.
“Should the university allow dine-in service at some point during the semester, seating would be limited and tables would be spaced to allow for adequate physical distancing,” according to UConn’s website.
Everyone will be required to wear a mask in public, common spaces, according to President Katsouleas, and the university has purchased enough masks to supply the entire community.
“If someone is unable to wear a mask, due to a medical condition for example, we will work with you to identify a solution before you return to campus,” President Katsouleas said.
Protocols for employee testing are in development, and faculty who wish to teach classes online will be accommodated to do so.
“Students should be able to take a full course load,” according to the university’s website. “The university expects minimal, if any, disruption to most students’ progress to a degree.”
Progress made toward the conditions of the Governor’s Reopen Advisory Group can be found and monitored at UConn’s reopening website.
The plan outlined by Katsouleas will be submitted to the board of trustees for its consideration, and then to the state government in the coming weeks, according to Katsouleas.