The University of Minnesota invited students back to campus last week for summer courses. The university is using its summer session to test its Chinese virus prevention protocols before all students return to campus in late August.
According to a report by the Star Tribune, the University of Minnesota’s St. Paul campus recently welcomed students back to campus for summer courses. Administrators believe that the summer session will serve as a stress test for the university’s coronavirus prevention protocols.
Administrators around the nation have quickly adopted measures including contact tracing, rapid testing, and isolation housing to prevent the spread of the virus on campus. Minnesota Higher Education Commissioner Dennis Olson argued that these measures ensure that Minnesota’s university and colleges are well-equipped to prevent the spread of the virus.
“We’ve seen campuses slowly be able to implement those protocols that they’re planning for fall … so they feel well-positioned that they’ve now been able to practice this,” Olson said.
University of Minnesota executive vice president and provost Rachel Croson told the Star Tribune that students will be spread out around the classroom. Additionally, all students and faculty will be required to wear masks.
“This fall is going to look and feel different than past semesters,” Croson explained. “I think the in-person instruction is going to look different because we’re going to be physically distanced, there’s going to be masks. I think the distance instruction is going to look different because we’ve learned how to do this.”
Breitbart News reported in July that all of Harvard courses for the 2020-2021 academic year will be held online. However, a select group of students has been asked to conduct their online courses from their residence halls at Harvard this fall.
Stay tuned to Breitbart News for more updates on this story.