Last month, University of Minnesota President Joan Gabel announced regarding fall 2021, “with optimism and caution, the University plans to return to a pre-pandemic environment in teaching, research, service, and other facets of in-person and on-campus life” (click here to read the press release). This decision reflects current trends suggesting all faculty, staff, and students will have the opportunity to be vaccinated for COVID-19 prior to the fall semester.
“This announcement reinforces the message Chancellor Holz-Clause and I have shared over the past month or so that we intend to use in-person instruction as the default modality for on-campus courses in Fall 2021,” said Vice-Chancellor John Hoffman. “We will still have a few courses that remain in blended or remote modalities, in some cases because faculty have discovered or developed new ways to increase the quality of learning in these settings, but most classes for on-campus students will be delivered in-person.”
UMC was able to offer 80% of their on-campus courses in-person this past year, but to keep campus safe, they did so with as many employees working remotely as possible. “The big change for students will be experiencing nearly all of our faculty and staff back on campus this fall, and with them will come the hands-on collegiate experience that makes Crookston special,” said Hoffman. “And we should see increased opportunities for student engagement with the Crookston experience through co-curricular activities.”
Student-athletes are expected to return to campus in early August, new student orientation the week of August 16 with classes beginning Tuesday, August 24.
