Massachusetts State Universities Plan To Reopen For Fall Semester
BOSTON (CBS) – More than 50,000 students will return to campus in the fall when Massachusetts State Universities open the system's nine campuses in September.
"With Phase III of the Governor's plan for re-opening the Commonwealth expected by mid-August, the universities are working hard to develop plans to offer a blended model of instruction with face-to-face and remote coursework for the fall semester," the university system said in a statement.
State universities will offer on-campus classes and open residence halls for the fall semester.
"Because the state universities have very few large lecture-style classes and maintain low student-to-faculty ratios, we are confident our campuses will be able to provide students some level of in-classroom instruction," said Vincent Pedone, executive director of the State Universities Council of Presidents. "We are hearing from our students a demand for the return to in-classroom instruction and a return to their on-campus housing."
The campuses, which include Bridgewater State University, Fitchburg State University, Framingham State University, Salem State University, Westfield State University, Worcester State University, the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in North Adams, Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Boston and the Massachusetts Maritime Academy in Buzzards Bay, will follow COVID-19 protocols as outlined by the Centers for Disease Control.
In May, the Massachusetts Higher Education Working Group submitted recommendations for safe campus reopening to the Governor's Reopening Advisory Board.