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Fall 2020 College Classes: How Campuses are Reopening 

As the impact of COVID-19 drags on through the summer, college students are now asking what classes will look like in the fall. These students have been attending classes virtually since mid-March. Now, as the summer arrives, universities have begun making and posting decisions about whether or not fall 2020 college classes will be held in person or online.

The status of fall 2020 college classes varies from campus to campus. To guide you through the different scenarios schools are considering, we have included a list of colleges reopening as scheduled, schools that have announced shortened semesters, colleges that are still weighing different scenarios, and schools that will be operating entirely online this year.

Colleges Reopening For In-Person Classes

Very few colleges have declared with confidence that they will start hosting in-person classes, with zero to little change to the semester structure. These are:

• Agnes Scott College: Agnes Scott is planning to resume on campus instruction, operations, and residential experience for the fall 2020 semester.  
• Bard College: Bard College hopes to host classes on campus in the fall, and is working with state and local government and health officials to develop a healthy and safe protocol to do so.
• Baylor University: Baylor plans to start the fall semester on August 24, and is adapting classrooms and residence halls as needed to ensure students’ safety.
• Bennington College: Bennington anticipates reopening the campus in the fall for students and faculty who can safely return.
• Boston College: BC plans to reopen as originally intended on August 31. Safety measures include considerations on how to maintain physical distancing and secure food distribution, increased sanitization in campus buildings and the use of technology to host meetings and events.
• Boston University: BU is working to allow students to safely return to campus in the fall, including implementing specialized robots in the university labs to test students and faculty as well as emphasizing “contact tracing, social distancing, hygiene, and isolation and treatment for those infected.”
• Middlebury College: Middlebury is working towards a safe reopening of campus in the fall.
• New York University: NYU plans to hold fall 2020 college classes on campus. For international students or those abroad who are unable to travel to New York, the school is working on alternatives such as “Go Local,” which allows NYU goers to study at the campus nearest to their country of citizenship.
• Texas A&M: Texas A&M plans to fully reopen and start fall 2020 college classes as scheduled.
• Tufts University: Tufts is working to accommodate both students excited to return to campus, as well as those who aren’t able to travel, through a hybrid model.
• University of Arizona: UofA has said that it hopes to bring students back to the Tucson campus, but with extensive measures to protect students’ health.
• University of California: All of the UC schools are planning to reopen campuses for fall 2020 college classes.
• University of Florida: University of Florida campuses are planning full campus reopenings this fall.
• University of Houston: UH hopes to be back on campus this fall for face-to-face classes, with safety protocols implemented.
• University of Michigan: Although no formal announcements have been made yet, UM plans to host in-person classes this fall.
• Washington University St. Louis: In an email sent to students, Wash U has stated that it plans to reopen campus in the fall, with safety measures put in place. However, they added that if new guidelines are issued by the CDC, they may be forced to reconsider.

Colleges Reopening with Shortened In-Person Semesters

Many schools have announced that fall 2020 college classes will be held, but with shortened fall semesters. This list includes:

• Creighton University: Anticipating the second wave of COVID-19 to hit around November or December, the Creighton president has announced the decision to end on-campus learning for the fall semester by November 25, the day before Thanksgiving.
• Indiana University: Indiana University campuses plan to open for in-person instruction on August 24th, with one student per room allowed in the residence halls. After Thanksgiving week, all classwork will move online until the end of the semester.
• Ithaca College: Ithaca College has announced a delayed opening on October 5, with no plans to end the semester early.
• Michigan State University: MSU will begin classes on September 2, as previously scheduled and plan to end all in-person instruction on November 25, with remaining classes and final exams moving online for the remaining three weeks of the semester. 
• Rice University: Rice has announced that it hopes to start classes by mid-August, and end by Thanksgiving, and eliminate fall break.
• Tulane University: Tulane will start classes earlier than scheduled - on August 19, and will end in-person instruction by Thanksgiving break.
• University of Notre Dame: Notre Dame has announced that it plans to start classes earlier than usual, on August 10, and eliminate fall break so that students can leave by Thanksgiving.
• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University: These counterparts have announced that they will also start fall 2020 college classes earlier than they usually do. Both universities will begin the semester on August 10 and finish in-person final exams before students go home for Thanksgiving. There will be no fall break, neither will students return to campus after Thanksgiving.
• University of North Carolina at Charlotte: Students at UNC Charlotte will begin fall classes on September 7, two weeks later than normal.
• University of North Carolina at Greensboro: UNC Greensboro has declared a shortened fall semester, ending before Thanksgiving with no fall break. Most students will take most final exams online.
• University of South Carolina: The University of South Carolina intends to open campus for students to attend in-person classes, but plans to go remote starting Thanksgiving. 
• University of Texas - Austin: UT Austin has joined the list of schools that have announced in-person openings this fall, with the hope students will wrap up the semester by Thanksgiving. UT Austin doesn’t usually have fall breaks.

Colleges Still Making Decisions

The majority of top schools are yet to make an announcement regarding whether fall 2020 college classes will be held online or in person. Some of the universities on the list whose decisions are up in the air include:

• Brown University: Brown has organized a task force to help plan the campus’ reopening in the fall. 
• Chapman University: Chapman’s representatives have said that the school is still finalizing plans for the fall, but that a Thanksgiving end date was among the possible scenarios for them as well. 
• Columbia University: Columbia will announce within the next two months whether classes will be held on campus or online.
• Cornell University: The Cornell president has informed students that the school hopes to welcome everyone back on campus in the fall, but that the spring is too early to guarantee reopening.
• Dartmouth College: Dartmouth is considering a variety of scenarios, including adjusting the semester’s start and end dates or conducting a partially remote term.
• Harvard University: Harvard is confident about a fall reopening, but will inform students whether or not classes will be virtual no later than July.
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology: MIT is still making decisions about whether or not fall 2020 college classes will be held in person. Suggestions the school is considering include delaying in-person classes by six weeks, splitting the academic year into three semesters, and conducting the entire semester virtually. The school is not considering starting at the originally scheduled date whatsoever.
• Princeton University: Princeton does not anticipate a delayed opening, but has said that students will find out in July whether classes will take place in person or online.
• Rhode Island School of Design: RISD hopes to start fall 2020 college classes in-person, but will make a formal announcement on whether that is the case by June 15.
• University of Pennsylvania: Penn is considering a variety of scenarios, including combination of virtual and in-person classes.
• Stanford University: Stanford has various scenarios in mind, including a suggestion to start the next academic year as late as winter 2020-21. 
• Yale University: Yale has announced that it plans to let students know the status of how classes will be held by early July. Yale is “committed to welcoming students back to campus as soon as the public health situation warrants.”

Each of these campuses are still debating various options regarding what will be the safest options for students come fall.

Colleges that Have Announced Virtual Reopenings

While most schools consider their options, a few schools have already declared that they will not resume most in-person courses this fall, including:

• California State University: Cal State was the first large university to announce a fully online fall semester. 
• Eastern Washington University: Eastern Washington plans to offer most courses online for the fall 2020 term – while face-to-face instruction will be allowed for certain classes.

We will continue updating this page as more colleges provide concrete information on their status regarding fall 2020 college classes. 

As we all know, the conditions are far from ideal — none of the openings are guaranteed if the virus continues to prevail in the country. Universities are doing their best regarding deciding whether or not fall 2020 college classes will be held on campus or virtually, with the most important priority being students’ safety. Hopefully, your school will make the decision that’s best for the campus population. Keep an eye on this blog for updates and announcements. We hope you stay safe.