As some universities in the State System of Higher Education are transitioning to mostly or all online classes, IUP has announced that they will do the same.
IUP President Dr. Michael Driscoll said that while there are no cases of Coronavirus on-campus at this time, the university is asking only certain students to come to campus for the fall semester. Those student groups include:
- Freshmen, as they say they want to ease their transition to college life.
- Students in academic programs that would require them to be on-campus, including the Academy of Culinary Arts and the Criminal Justice Training Center.
- Most students in graduate programs
- International students who are in the United States
- and Students with special circumstances that require face-to-face instruction
All other students are advised not to return to campus and to use technology to access their courses, which are still scheduled to start on August 23rd.
This re-balancing plan, according to Driscoll, will reduce the number of students on campus to about one-third of the student body. Even though IUP is taking this re-balanced approach, their original fall plan for students who will be on campus will remain the same.
Staff members have been trained to learn and practice new ways of presenting courses via distance learning, and classrooms are newly equipped with technology to provide remote delivery of classes. Employees in student-facing offices will continue to help students on campus, and the Hawks Q&A Center will offer live responses and the chance to submit questions by email. That facility will be ready to open on August 15th.
You can read Driscoll’s complete announcement by clicking on the link below:
Fall Planning Rebalance Announcement from President Dr. Michael Driscoll
Comments