Significant measures will be in place, but students and faculty will return to Connecticut college and university campuses this fall.  Over the past several weeks, System President Mark Ojakian says campus teams and steering committees have identified opportunities and challenges.

Recommendations are being made for academic affairs, enrollment management, student life, student support services, logistics, technology, operations, and facilities.  Ojakian says they still have a lot of planning to do and more questions need to be addressed in the coming weeks and months.

West Conn and the other three universities can start bringing residential and commuter students to their campuses on August 24th. Classes will follow the common calendar through Thanksgiving, with the balance of the semester and exams online. Arrangements for residential students to move in are still to be determined.

The 12 community colleges are permitted to offer on campus courses beginning June 1 for those spring semester students who need to complete programs, and for new students to enroll in workforce development programs.

Classes at the colleges and universities this fall will be delivered in a variety of on campus, online, remote, hybrid and flexible course design models. The community colleges and universities will be prepared to pivot to offer fully remote courses and services if public health conditions warrant.

The ReOpen framework provides guidance on the planning of repopulating campuses with the re-entry of students; monitoring the health of students, faculty and staff; containment of the virus should an outbreak occur; and preparing to shut down physical campuses and transition as seamlessly as possible back to a remote-only model if it becomes necessary.