ATHENS, Ga. - The University of Georgia provided a forecast of instructional plans for fall and summer semesters, and the school projects to resume "normal operations" by the 2021 fall semester.
In a statement attributed to multiple people, including university President Jere Morehead, university officials wrote they anticipate more control of the spread of COVID-19 with wider availability of vaccines over the next few months.
The university is planning a return to full in-person instruction, full capacity in school residence halls and dining facilities and regular operations for other campus services. Research and public service operations are also expected to resume normal operations by the fall.
The university's plans for the Summer 2021 semesters will be a mix of face-to-face, hybrid or online instructional formats, but the smaller class sizes provide for more face-to-face instructional settings while maintaining social distancing.
The university said instructional formats for all classes would be published in the school's online portal, Athena, by April 5.
UGA's class attendance policy will not change from its policy in the spring semester, outlined by its Academic Affairs bulletin, saying it's up to instructors to implement a fair policy that provides flexibility to meet the summer's updated health and safety guidelines.
Faculty, staff and graduate assistants that received COVID-19 accommodations in Spring 2021 are elibigle for accommodations in the summer semester.
Requests for student accommodations are to be made through the Disability Resource Center at drc@uga.edu or 706-542-8719.
University officials said they will continue to monitor the pandemic and public health guidance from the University System of Georgia, the Department of Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"We must remain ready to pivot to social distancing — with a mix of instructional formats of in-person, hybrid and online modes of instruction — if the situation warrants such a change," a statement read.
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