California State University system will continue to be held online through the fall 2020 term because of the spread of the coronavirus.
Keeping classes online is necessary because of “evolving data surrounding the progression” of the virus, Chancellor Tim White said during a CSU trustee meeting, alluding to public health experts forecasting further waves of the virus later this year. He left the door open, however, to resuming some in-person classes “as circumstances might allow.”
There also will be “limited exceptions” for courses across the 23-campus system that can’t be delivered virtually, such as essential lab courses and clinical classes for nursing students, White said. Those classes will have restrictions, such as social distancing and fewer students.
“Our university, when open without restrictions and fully in person, as is the traditional norm of the past, is a place where over 500,000 people come together in close and vibrant proximity with each other on a daily basis,” he said. “That approach, sadly, just isn’t in the cards now as I have described.”
White’s announcement came shortly after federal health officials said that it’s possible that colleges and schools across the country could reopen in the fall if there is widespread testing, social distancing and sound hygiene. The decision by CSU, the nation’s largest four-year public university system, will no doubt be watched by other university systems nationwide.
Classes across the CSU system, which enrolls about 480,000 undergraduate students, have been conducted virtually since March in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus, which causes the COVID-19 disease.
To read more about the CSU respond to the coronavirus pandemic, click here.
