UMass Releases Reopening Plan for Fall 2021.
AMHERST, Mass. — The University of Massachusetts released its reopening plan for the fall 2021 semester earlier last week.
In an email sent to students, faculty and other UMass community members, Chancellor Kumble Subaswammy announced that the UMass administrators are "prepar[ing] for a return to normal campus operations for the next academic year."
This, he said, "will include face-to-face instruction, full residence halls, and a complement of student events and activities." Students will be required to be fully vaccinated before coming to campus in the fall. Faculty members are encouraged to be vaccinated, as well, but Subaswammy stops short of mandating them.
Much of the return to campus will be paid for with funds from the American Rescue Plan passed into law in March. Part of this law was the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF), which "provides direct one-time federal funding to the campus." Despite this, the $200 million of lost revenue due to pandemic schooling raises questions about when UMass will return to previous levels of revenue.
Subaswammy also reported the creation of a Fall Planning Group, which released a report that details the proposed recommendations and plans for different aspects of the school year.
Currently, the university plans to hold all classes in-person. The question as to whether masks should be required in the classroom is undecided but will be based on public health guidelines. In the event of public health guidelines' requiring restrictions on in-person learning, the University plans to return to remote instruction for the duration of those guidelines.
The UMass school year will start Sept. 1 and will allow for time off during Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day and Thanksgiving.
The report was relatively vague about the status of international students. It suggests that UMass will monitor travel restrictions and vaccine availability in other countries. For international students who were not able to return to campus by Sept. 1, the university will use Zoom and other technologies to make the classes available to those students.
Summer New Student Orientation (NSO) will continue to be remote this year.
Move-in procedures are largely unchanged from previous, non-pandemic years. Campus move-in will occur Aug. 25 through Aug. 29. International students move in August 25, while freshmen move in Aug. 27. Inside the residence halls, "Residence Education staff plan to provide a close-to-normal residential experience" for the upcoming year.
The university plans to host fans at sports competitions later this year. The home opening football game against Boston College is scheduled for Sept. 11.
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