FORT COLLINS, Colo. — Colorado State University announced Friday that it plans to welcome students to campus in the fall but will finish the semester with remote learning due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.
President Joyce McConnell also announced that tuition will not go up for the 2020-2021 school year, although that still needs approval from the CSU Board of Governors.
Classes for the fall 2020 semester will begin as already scheduled on Aug. 24. The university will shift to remote, online classes following fall break, according to an announcement from the school.
That means the last two weeks of classes (Nov. 30 - Dec. 11) and finals week (Dec. 14 -18) will be delivered virtually.
“The health of our community is our top priority,” McConnell said in explaining the decision to move to remote learning at the end of the semester. “The public health experts on our own team and across the country are united in urging people to limit travel to contain the spread of COVID-19.
"In light of this guidance, it would be irresponsible to ask our community members to return to campus after traveling for fall break. Instead, I’ve asked our academic team to work with all of our extraordinary faculty to prepare to deliver their course material virtually to wrap up the semester.”
Residence halls will remain open during and after fall break for students who need to remain or return. Other campus facilities will adjust operations at that point in the semester as appropriate per public health guidance in place at the time.
McConnell said the university is committed to addressing the needs of any student, faculty or staff member who is vulnerable to COVID-19 or those who care for another vulnerable person.
The following protocols are in place to address the presence of the novel coronavirus and to prevent or slow its spread.
- CSU will offer face-to-face instruction on campus with reduced density in learning environments. The university will also facilitate remote learning for those who will need it and create hybrid classes as needed to incorporate online learning.
- All employees on university grounds or performing university work in the field or in a satellite office or campus will be asked to perform self-monitoring and reporting of COVID symptoms.
- With capacity in federally-certified laboratories on university grounds to run hundreds of COVID-19 tests per day, the university intends to strategically test members of the community during the fall semester.
- The university will isolate sick individuals and will be able to care for and quarantine students who live in university housing who become ill with COVID-19.
- Contact tracing will be performed for those who are ill, and swift action will be taken to prevent the spread of further illness.
- All students, faculty, staff and visitors to university campuses and facilities will be expected to follow current public health guidance, including wearing masks and practicing social distancing.
- CSU Facilities Management staff will maintain a rigorous cleaning and disinfecting schedule for campus facilities, following CDC best practices.