University of Minnesota pushing back student move-in, will keep classes online for first 2 weeks
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The University of Minnesota is delaying reopening its Twin Cities, Duluth and Rochester campuses for two weeks amid the COVID-19 pandemic, keeping classes online for that time and pushing back student move-in.
The two and a half hours of debate, the Board of Regents voted 8-3 Monday in favor of the proposal.
The two-week pause gives the university a short window of time to decide what to do for the rest of the fall semester in light of the global pandemic. University officials expressed concern about having to send students home.
U of M President Joan Gabel put forth the proposal last week after several large universities that had brought students back to campus had to reverse their plans due to COVID-19 outbreaks.
Campus life hangs in the balance at the University of Minnesota ahead of Monday vote on move-in date
Campus life is hanging in the balance for tens of thousands of University of Minnesota students as they wait for the Board of Regents to vote on whether or not to let students move into on-campus housing before the start of the school year.
For the Crookston and Morris campuses, plans for student move-in will continue as scheduled. University officials said the approach for those two campuses is different because of timing, the smaller size of their student population and the low level of virus transmission in the communities where they are located.