Professors at Georgia Tech in circulated a petition last week that calls on administrators to keep courses online for the fall semester. Over 850 professors and teachers, or about 75% of all instructors and faculty, have signed onto the petition thus far.

According to a report by Campus Reform, more than 850 professors at Georgia Tech are calling on administrators to keep courses online for the fall semester. However, the petition does argue that some campus experiences should be available for courses for which in-person instruction is necessary.

The petition calls on administrators to follow “science-based evidence” to avoid unnecessary health risks for students and faculty this fall.

Georgia Tech, like peer institutions, faces a profound challenge: we are preparing for the Fall 2020 semester amidst a worsening Covid-19 pandemic. As academic faculty in a world-class Institute of Technology, we expect our leadership, who understand the culture and needs of the Institute community, to have the authority to develop reopening plans in our collective interest. We expect that planning and decisions to be made in accordance with scientific evidence that prioritize the health and safety of the Georgia Tech community and the greater Atlanta community. Contrary to those expectations, re-opening plans at Georgia Tech have been shaped based on guidance from outside the Institute, and with limited input from the faculty who are being asked to carry out these plans. We are alarmed to see the Board of Regents and the University System of Georgia mandating procedures that do not follow science-based evidence, increase the health risks to faculty, students, and staff, and interfere with the nimble decision-making necessary to prepare and respond to Covid-19 infection risk.

The petition goes on to argue that “remote delivery” should be “default mode of instruction” for the fall semester to prevent the spread of the virus.

Breitbart News reported in early July that Harvard had announced that they will keep all of their courses online for the upcoming academic year. Some students, however, have been asked to conduct their online courses from their residence halls on campus.

Stay tuned to Breitbart News for more updates on this story.