UT plans to resume classes in the fall

School officials say shortened semester will end at Thanksgiving; finals to be done online

The University of Texas at Austin plans to resume classes in August with a shortened semester, officials announced this week.

Outgoing UT-Austin President Gregory Fenves and interim President

Jay Hartzell said the fall semester will begin as scheduled on Aug. 26 and will end just before Thanksgiving, with exams and study days held online, and commencement again postponed.

“With COVID-19 still expected to be active this fall, we hope to avoid the possibility of students becoming infected during the Thanksgiving break and then spreading the virus to classmates upon their return after Thanksgiving,” Fenves and Hartzell wrote in a Wednesday letter to the campus community. “We are still developing the details for how this new schedule will affect course syllabi, residence hall living and other key campus functions. We will continue to provide additional information as we move forward.”

In-person commencements for the fall semester will also be postponed, but the university plans to hold a universitywide commencement for its spring and fall 2020 graduates in 2021. The date and plans for the event will depend on the evolving pandemic, Fenves said.

The university will host its virtual commencement ceremony for spring 2020 graduates Saturday night as planned.

Rice University similarly announced earlier this month that it will return to campus this fall with a shortened semester that ends before Thanksgiving to help curb the spread of the virus. Classes at Rice will resume in hybrid form — both online and in-person at the same time — and will be recorded. Exams and papers must also be capable of being completed remotely, Rice officials have said.

At UT-Austin, COVID-19 testing will be available on campus in the fall for those with symptoms and for surveillance testing for students, staff and faculty, UT officials said. Using current models, they estimated that more than 500 tests will be needed daily. The university is working with Dell Medical School and its College of Natural Sciences to increase testing capacity and establish a new testing lab.

The college is also using working groups to help draft guidelines and recommendations for how to resume operations safely and will work to refine safety practices for students whose research or career opportunities have been affected by the pandemic.

While research will soon resume on campus, university officials said all UT employees working on campus throughout the summer must wear face masks or cloth coverings unless they are in a private space or office.

College officials have also presented a voluntary furlough program for select employees.

Other universities within the UT System are assessing their options.

UT-Dallas President Richard C. Benson said Wednesday that the college will resume classes this fall, but without a vaccine or treatments for COVID-19, it’s still unknown in what format.

Benson said the college is considering various options, including a mix of classes online and inperson. Any transition back to campus, however, will be gradual, he said, and with the hope to open some of the school’s research and instructional laboratories.

UT-San Antonio has plans to reopen for the fall semester, but how is yet to be determined, a spokesman said. Campus officials hope to have a decision made by late June or early July.

In the meantime, UT-San Antonio President Taylor Eighmy announced this week that he has appointed a Public Health Task Force to make recommendations regarding a return to the fall.

UT’s health institutions are also still deciding on how to educate students this fall, said UTHealth spokeswoman Deborah Mann Lake.

McGovern Medical School at UTHealth will allow clinical students to return to patient care settings on June 1 with PPE protection and screened risk. Pre-clinical students who are in their first or second year will continue remote learning and in-person classes with necessary social distancing.

UT’s School of Public Health, School of Biomedical Informatics and Cizik School of Nursing have yet to make plans for fall, but the nursing school’s simulation labs are now open with social distancing and mask requirements. The biomedical informatics school will announce its plans for fall in July.

UT’s School of Dentistry will have students in buildings for preclinical labs and clinical simulations during the summer session, but students are encouraged to study from home and to only come to campus for their scheduled class times. Masks are required.