COLUMBIA, Mo. — Mizzou students will shift back to virtual learning in most of their classes after Thanksgiving break, the university announced Thursday afternoon.
Undergraduate and graduate courses that can move to remote learning will do so for the last three weeks of the semester, including final exams. The school said most students should plan on remote learning after Thanksgiving.
Students who are going home for the Thanksgiving holiday are encouraged to not return until the start of the spring semester in January.
Mizzou said the change isn’t connected to an increase in COVID-19 cases on campus – the school said its case load is actually down 80% since Labor Day weekend – but rather an overall surge in the broader Columbia and Boone County area.
“While our experts say that MU students have not presented a direct burden to the local hospitals because they have not needed hospitalization, we are all members of the broader community. And as the community strives to gain control of the virus, a temporary thinning of the student population is helpful,” MU Chancellor Mun Y. Choi wrote in a letter to the Mizzou community.
He said the campus is still working through various plans for shifting back to a most remote learning structure, but the university wanted to let students know as soon as possible so they can potentially adjust their personal plans.
Mizzou officials do not anticipate closing the campus. Faculty and staff operations will continue on campus.
While students are encouraged to stay home when they leave town for the holiday, Mizzou will keep residence and dining halls open for on-campus students.
Mizzou released the following bullet points of what the broader school community should know as of Thursday afternoon:
- In-person instruction will continue through Friday, Nov. 20, 2020. Faculty and instructors will communicate with their classes on how instruction will proceed for the rest of the semester.
- Any student leaving Columbia for the holidays is encouraged to not return until the start of the spring semester in January.
- Students should pack belongings they would need for an extended absence when leaving for the holidays, but plan to return to Columbia for the spring term in January.
- Residence and dining halls will remain open for on-campus students who cannot return home.
- Those who remain will have access to dining services, including a Thanksgiving meal and safe social events.
- Courses where students provide direct clinical services or interact with patients as part of their training will continue to be provided face-to-face.
- Campus facilities, including the libraries and labs, will remain open in some capacity for those faculty and students who need access to them for independent studies, thesis research and dissertation projects.
- Both faculty and staff operations will continue on campus, as we do not anticipate closing the campus. Deans, department chairs and supervisors will work with individuals, including student employees, to determine if any changes in working arrangements or duties are needed.
- Free bags with safety supplies will be made available to students at the bookstore next week to support safety efforts through the holidays.
“We believe these actions will support our community, and will provide the best path forward for our university’s return to in-person learning in the spring semester,” Chancellor Choi wrote in his note. “Our campus community will enter 2021 with a proven template for success in managing the virus on our campus amid rising national hopes for a vaccine in the near future.”