ATHENS, Ohio — After suspending in-person classes on campus and switching to online class for the remainder of the spring semester, Ohio University in Athens announced some hope for normalcy after it said it plans to reopen campuses for the fall 2020 semester.
“With the health and safety of our university community at the top of our minds, we are planning for our new normal,” President M. Duane Nellis said in a news release. “It is our hope and intention that we will return to in-person instruction in the fall if it is safe for us to do so.”
University officials and members of the community are in the middle of discussions on how to safely reopen on-campus operations.
Ohio University has developed several working groups to provide structure and plans for the fall semester. This includes a public health group that will focus on testing and any quarantine needs, a group that focuses on personal protective equipment and supplies, an academic scenario group, a group focused on bringing back employees and a group focused on research and lab spaces.
Each group will make recommendations to the president by the end of June.
In the case the university has to make changes, there will be plans in place to continue distance learning.
“Should it be necessary or required to start the fall semester remotely, we will be prepared with a full array of courses using innovative modalities. Our outstanding faculty are already working with the Office of Instructional Innovation and University Libraries to draw on the university’s longstanding strength in distance education.”
