Northeastern University Plans to Reopen for On-Campus Classes in the Fall

Northeastern University Plans to Reopen for On-Campus Classes in the Fall

We’re seeing this at more and more schools lately. Harvard was one of the first and others, predictably, followed suit.

Boston.com reports:

Northeastern University intends to reopen for on-campus classes this fall

The president of Northeastern University says the school intends to open for on-campus classes this fall, with a gradual, phased reopening of its Boston campus potentially starting later this month.

“To put things in very clear terms: It is our intention to reopen our campuses this fall and offer on-site instruction and a residential experience for our students,” President Joseph Aoun wrote in an open letter to the school community, published Friday. “This is a highly complex endeavor; in fact, even more complicated than the move to remote learning and working we accomplished in March.”

Thousands of students at Northeastern have not been on campus since residence halls emptied out on March 17. Classes switched to online instruction days earlier, on March 12, as the impact of the coronavirus pandemic settled into New England.

Aoun wrote university leaders in recent weeks have been focused on “advanced scenario planning” for the summer and fall semester, and maintaining safety and wellbeing remains paramount.

A return to campus by the fall will require “new and innovative thinking about classroom usage, residential occupancy, dining, athletics, student activities, and other elements of campus life,” he said.

“Rest assured that every aspect of how the university operates is being evaluated in the context of our new reality,” Aoun wrote.

Aoun outlined a mixed approach in his letter, citing, for example, that the university will offer many large lectures in both “live and recorded formats” while some other courses “will allow for both live and remote participation.”

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