UMD Students To Start Spring Semester With Virtual Classes
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — The University of Maryland will begin its spring semester with virtual learning and continue the semester with a similar "look and feel" to its fall classes, according to the school's president.
Students will mostly have virtual classes for the first two weeks of the semester before the school shifts to hybrid learning, University President Darryll J. Pines wrote in a Tuesday letter to the university community.
Only about 25% of the classes will be in-person when hybrid learning resumes.
"If there is a lesson that we have learned throughout this pandemic, it is this: We must remain nimble and flexible and expect change," Pines wrote. "If new information comes to light, we will not hesitate to adapt our plans accordingly."
All students are required to submit a negative COVID-19 test before coming back to campus. Everyone who will be on campus will also have to get tested for the virus every two weeks.
Pines said students will have two weeks of virtual classes after spring break to allow for campus-wide testing before in-person classes resume. Dorms will also operate at a reduced capacity, with students residing only in single rooms.
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