The University of Oregon will have mostly remote classes for fall term, President Michael Schill announced in a campuswide email Aug. 26.
The school will continue to offer some labs, studios and other small classes in person, and offices, research facilities and some classrooms will be open to faculty and staff.
Campus will be closed to the general public — those who aren’t students, faculty, staff or other people associated with the university won’t be able to enter university buildings, Schill said. UO will also require people to wear face masks and socially distance, he said.
“All of us have watched other institutions abruptly shift gears over the last week or so, and I decided that the potential for disruption to our students and our campus community was just too high,” Schill said in the announcement. “It is far more prudent for the UO to take a more phased approach — as we’re seeking to do now.”
UO will continue to house freshmen on campus in the fall. The university will test incoming freshmen during move-in, a week after move-in and “periodically throughout the term,” the announcement said.
Schill added that he hopes the school will start teaching in-person classes in January 2021.
In the comments of the university’s announcement on Instagram, students and others asked why tuition would not be lowered and why the school’s announcement came so late.
Nick Keough, an ASUO senator, expressed concern for students with leases and full-priced tuition for a remote term.
“Thanks for leading everyone on as long as possible about in-person instruction when you knew it was likely not going to be possible months ago,” Keough commented on UO’s Instagram post.
UO will not lower tuition for fall term, according to the email, because the costs of operating the school will remain steady, even during a remote term, the announcement said. The university has increased expenses associated with technological infrastructure for remote learning and investments in COVID-19 testing and health care, Schill said.
ASUO communications director Sierra Goerlich said in a statement that ASUO is glad the university listened to some students’ concerns around in-person classes and community transmission.
“We hope that they will increase conversations with students in regards to moving forward in how winter quarter will look,” she said. “We also hope that the administration will rethink the potential burdens facing students in the nation and reevaluate the extent to which full tuition rates are fiscally and socially responsible.”
Students will have in-person access to services and activities in the EMU, Student Rec Center and UO libraries.
Schill said he wanted freshmen to have “a rich and rewarding in-person experience,” which involves living in the dorms, eating in the dining halls and studying in classrooms.
Reclaim UO, a student organization, posted on Instagram Tuesday calling for a fully remote fall term.
“With recent outbreaks after reopening at the University of Alabama and at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, is a responsible and safe return to campus even possible?” ReclaimUO said in the post. “Are the UO’s proposed prevention efforts and testing plans enough to ensure the safety of all students, faculty, staff, and the community-at-large?”
If opportunities for in-person instruction arise during fall term, Schill said UO will look into doing so safely but continue remote instruction for all students who want it.
“If we do this right,” Schill said in the email, “then we can have a successful fall term and lay the foundation for in-person instruction in 2021.”
The university will host a virtual town hall for students on Sept. 3 and one for university employees on Sept. 9. The board of trustees will meet Aug. 27 to review UO’s state-mandated COVID-19 health and safety operational plan.
This story was updated on Wednesday afternoon to include a comment from ASUO.
