A month after announcing plans to return to in-person classes for fall semester, the University of Southern California now says most classes will be available only online.
KTLA-TV reports that undergraduate students will primarily take courses online come August and housing and activities on the Los Angeles campus will be limited.
“Public health guidelines continue to change, and Los Angeles County has yet to approve our plans for returning to full campus operations,” says an email from from the university's provost’s office. “Los Angeles is experiencing an alarming spike in coronavirus cases, making it clear we need to dramatically reduce our on-campus density and all indoor activities for the fall semester.”
Student housing availability will be cut to less than half of normal capacity because the city “expects USC to hold a number of rooms vacant to provide quarantine space should a surge occur during the semester,” the provost says. Students are being encouraged to cancel their housing contracts by July 15 to get a full refund.
A revised schedule of mostly online classes will become available by July 8. Courses in a hybrid format combining in-person and online instruction will also be offered.
“We anticipate that 10 to 20 percent of our classes will be conducted in person, on campus,” USC says. “These will be primarily face-to-face labs, studios, performance, and other courses involving hands-on work, and independent research studies that require facilities and equipment only available on campus.”
Plans for graduate programs will be addressed by the individual school and program, the university said.
The university had announced on June 2 that it planned to resume in-person classes in August with mandatory face coverings and physical distancing in place.
