Are Campuses Opening the Classroom This Fall?

Not so fast: Final decisions for most universities are likely to be made mid-summer.

• By Ralph C. Jensen
• May 13, 2020

As universities make tough decision on when to reopen campuses for in-person classes, we rounded up the announcements from schools across the country (most of which have not made concrete decisions on how to respond to the coronavirus pandemic just yet).

Tufts University, Medford, Mass.

Unsure it will reopen in the fall, Tufts has announced a hiring, wage and salary freeze. The university also suspended all capital projects in April.

Cornell University, Ithaca, New York

An announcement that courses will resume in the fall, but university officials are not certain when students might return, and when courses could take place in person.

The University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California

The university has not yet released updates about opening in fall 2020.

University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois

University officials have not yet released information about opening in the fall 2020.

The University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana

The university has sent an email to faculty stating it will announce plans for the fall semester by mid-June.

Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee

University Chancellor Susan Wante tweeted on April 21 that decisions for how to reopen in the fall have not been made yet.

Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois

The university’s website states that a plan for how fall courses will be conducted is not in place yet. Fall course registration has been postponed until at least late July.

Rice University, Houston, Texas

In a letter to students, the university president wrote that on May 4 that the university expects to reopen campus in the fall, and it is considering regulations to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, including flexible start dates for international students and some remote coursework.

Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.

Members of the Harvard Community received a letter dated April 27 stating that the university is committed to reopening in the fall. The letter also stated that students and faculty must prepare to function entirely remotely to prevent spread of COVID-19.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, Mass.

According to several coronavirus updates on the MIT website, the college is working on a fall 2020 reopening plan.