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The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on Monday became the first major college to switch to online classes after it reopened in person. The reversal took a week.
Since the university began in-person classes on August 10, it has reported at least four clusters of COVID-19 outbreaks in student living spaces. Undergraduate classes will be moved away on Wednesday, and the university has said it will reduce the density of its dormitories.
UNC was one of the first and largest universities to bring students back to campus for in-person classes. It was under scrutiny as a potential harbinger for other institutions planning to resume in-person teaching this month or next.
“While we believe we have worked diligently to help create a safe and healthy living and learning environment on campus, we believe the current data presents an untenable situation,” wrote University Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz, and his provost, Robert Blouin, in a message to campus. “The health and safety of our university community is paramount.”
Many universities that had planned to bring back students for the fall semester have canceled or significantly changed those plans in recent weeks. Hundreds of people are still considering reopening in person, citing reasons ranging from the students’ wishes and educational mission to the financial situation of the university.
UNC’s Chapel Hill campus reported 130 student cases last week, a significant increase from the 10 cases reported on campus the week before class started.
Many students had already moved into residential halls and they are likely to move. “We expect the majority of our current undergraduate residency students to change their residency plans for the fall,” the chancellor and provost said in their statement.
Students can request a cancellation for their on-campus housing assignment and will not be charged a housing fee if granted.
Certain aspects of university life will continue. Student-athletes will attend classes online, but “training and practices will continue according to standards set by our university, health officials and the department,” the sports department said on Twitter Monday afternoon. . “We still expect to play this fall.”
The response to the UNC outbreaks had been swift, especially within the UNC community. Barbara Rimer, the dean of the university’s school of public health, called last Monday for a switch to remote operations.
“The number of clusters is increasing and could soon get out of hand,” Rimer said in a blog post. “It’s time to make an exit. We’ve tried to make it work, but it doesn’t.”
The road to reopening had been long and difficult for the flagship university of North Carolina. Local county health officials had advised in July that the university start the semester with online education and that student accommodation be limited to those most in need.
Guskiewicz said he had met with local health officials about the university’s plans and that the campus had made progress to comply with general county recommendations. But the UNC system, whose board of governors is elected by North Carolina lawmakers, had decided that all of its universities would open for in-person classes for the fall semester.
“Shortly thereafter, I discussed this issue with the UNC system and the UNC system advised us to stay the course with our current plan,” Guskiewicz said in a statement.
A group of staff and faculty have sued the University of North Carolina system for what they see as unsafe working conditions.
A group of faculty members also wrote an open letter that appeared in The Charlotte Observer, asking undergraduates to stay home “to protect you and your fellow students, your teachers, the many workers who serve you. on campus, residents of Chapel Hill and Carrboro, as well as your family and loved ones. Other universities with early reopening dates have also started reporting cases of COVID-19.
The University of Notre Dame also began classes on August 10 after testing about 12,000 people before the scheduled return to campus. Less than 1% of these tests, 33, came back positive. Since the students began moving in on Aug. 3, Indiana Private University has reported 58 cases.
Education coverage at USA TODAY is made possible in part by a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The Gates Foundation does not provide any editorial contribution.
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