FIU announces return to classes in pre-COVID-19 conditions for summer, fall
Florida International University will return to normal, pre-COVID classes this summer, announced Provost and Executive Vice President Kenneth Furton on Tuesday.
For the past year, the largest public university in South Florida has held a significant number of its classes online or with social distancing in person, measures that attempted to curb the spread of the deadly virus.
But now with the vaccinations underway, the school is ready to offer a “robust and safe on-campus experience for students,” wrote Furton in an email sent to the FIU community.
Furton also warned that, if needed, FIU will rescind its on-campus plans. But he didn’t specifiy what changes in conditions would trigger that.
“Because of the fluid nature of the pandemic, we will remain flexible and agile,” Furton said.
What will classes at FIU be like this summer and fall?
Beginning in summer 2021, the university will schedule all courses on the three modalities it used before the pandemic: fully online, fully in person, and hybrid (a mix of online and in person).
FIU will abandon the other two modalities it used this spring because of the pandemic: remote (students and professors meeting live online during the scheduled meeting days and times) and hyflex (a flexible version of hybrid in which students and professors meet in person for a lesser amount of time).
Summer A session (from May 10 to June 18) and summer C session (from May 10 to July 30) courses will implement 6-foot-apart physical distancing.
Summer B (from June 21 to July 30) and fall semester (from Aug. 23 to Dec. 11) courses won’t implement physical distancing and will reinstate pre-COVID-19 classroom capacities.
However, Maydel Santana, an FIU spokeswoman, confirmed to the Herald that other safety guidelines will stay in place, including masks, Plexiglass glass dividers, frequent hand-washing and cleaning, testing, and contact-tracing.
“We will continue following CDC guidelines and the advice of our own Health Committee experts as things evolve,” she said in an email.
To allow for the new course schedule to be built, FIU delayed the summer and fall registration date by one week. Students will be able to look at it on April 1, and register starting April 6.
In his email, Furton said he expects FIU to use all 207 general-use classrooms, plus additional classrooms when needed. But, if the university needs even more classroom space, they will first try to use other FIU spaces, and then “explore the possibility of outside venues.”
For a complete list of what’s open on campus, you can visit shopFIU.
This story was originally published March 23, 2021 at 8:07 PM.
