OXFORD — All undergraduate classes on the Oxford campus at Miami University will begin online or remotely until at least Sept. 21, university officials announced Monday.
Classes begin as scheduled Aug. 17 for all students. Undergraduate classes on Miami’s Regional campuses will also begin remotely on Aug 17.
“As a university, we must continue to be flexible and adaptable with the health and safety of our community as our first priority,” President Greg Crawford said in a letter to Oxford students.
“When we began planning last spring, we had hoped that the COVID-19 pandemic would be in significant decline before classes were scheduled to begin. Instead, cases are rising in many states,” he wrote. “With over 40% of our Oxford students coming from outside Ohio, we’ve been monitoring the situation closely.”
Miami is working with Butler County health officials and following the guidance and directives of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Ohio Department of Health and Gov. Mike DeWine.
“Governor DeWine and his team have been wonderful partners through these turbulent times. I want to thank Governor DeWine for his leadership and continued support of higher education,” said Crawford.
“We have heard from students and their families, faculty, and staff who are excited to return to campus and from those who have concerns about returning. This means offering our students several options for the fall semester,” Crawford said in the letter.
Following the recommended best practices for opening universities, Miami will sequence the return to campus in multiple phases.
“This will give us the opportunity to review lessons learned at each interval and adapt accordingly,” Crawford noted. “In the end, we hope, this will provide the best opportunity for a successful return to the Oxford campus later this fall,” Crawford said.
He added, “We expect students planning to live off-campus in Oxford will begin returning in advance of the August 17 start of classes. We encourage them to consider residing at home if circumstances permit or if they have significant health or family concerns.”
Move-in for Oxford undergraduate students living in the residence halls will begin Sept. 14 in a phased-in manner.
Graduate students will begin on-campus classes on Aug. 17 and research activities will continue as planned.
Students who elect to return this fall will be required to sign a health and safety pledge.
Students will also have the option to construct a fully remote semester, and newly admitted and transfer students to the Oxford campus may elect to postpone their enrollment for a semester or for a year.
Oxford undergraduate students and their families will choose from one of three options described in the letter to Oxford students.
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