Many U.S. colleges plan on returning to virtual learning for the first few weeks of the upcoming semester after winter break, the Associated Press reported Saturday.
Colleges are tentatively moving back to virtual learning in hopes of overcoming the current surge in COVID-19 cases due to the more contagious Omicron variant, AP News reported. (RELATED: Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser Expects Schools Will Alternate To ‘Situational Virtual Learning’ Amid COVID Outbreaks)
“I’m a junior, but about half my schooling experience has been online,” said Jake Maynard, a student at George Washington University. “You lose so much of what makes the school the school.”
Dozens of colleges are moving classes online for at least the first week of the semester amid a surge in COVID-19 cases just as students are about to return from winter break. Some warn it could stretch longer if the wave of infection doesn’t subside. https://t.co/OwzETA6N2w
— The Associated Press (@AP) January 1, 2022
Colleges reportedly making the transition to virtual classes are Harvard, the University of Chicago, Michigan State University, Yale, Columbia, Wayne State University, Northwestern University, most University of California campuses, Rice University and several others.
“The omicron variant hit us at a terrible time, basically the last couple weeks of the fall semester, which doesn’t give us much time to prepare for spring,” said Dr. Lynn Goldman, dean of the Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University.
A total of 70 colleges spanning 26 states are reportedly beginning the semester with online classes while other colleges are opting to delay the new term without offering remote classes, AP News reported.
Some schools, such as Northeastern University in Boston, are moving forward with in-person classes citing low health risks due to vaccine and mask requirements.