The University of Maryland announced it will return to in-person classes for the fall semester, on the assumption that most students will have been vaccinated against the coronavirus by then.
“Though we cannot forecast with certainty, we expect that the majority of our campus community will be eligible to get a COVID-19 vaccine before the beginning of the fall semester,” President Darryll Pines wrote Thursday to the College Park campus community. “Classes designed for in-person delivery are expected to be delivered face-to-face on campus this fall semester, and staff will be expected to resume their on-campus roles.”
Pines said the university currently doesn’t receive any supplies of vaccine from the state and wants students to get immunized from non-university sources.
The decision came after the campus resumed in-person learning on a smaller scale earlier this week. Currently, about 25% of the courses are taught in person, WTOP reported.
The president acknowledged that it may be prudent in some cases to maintain a hybrid of in-person and virtual learning and that the school will adjust accordingly.
“As we have in the past, we will maintain our focus on the health and safety of our campus community and adapt as necessary based on public health guidance,” Pines said.