Indiana University expects a return to all in-person learning this fall at all of its campuses, university president Michael McRobbie said in an email Wednesday.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, this year’s fall and spring semesters have been mostly on-line with limited in-person learning.
McRobbie said the decision was made with the advice of the school’s medical and public health experts and that COVID-19 cases on campus are “very low and remain manageable.”
IU’s weekly positivity rates have fallen below 1 percent, however, McRobbie says everyone needs to maintain preventive measures.
“As optimistic as we are, I stress that the battle is not yet won,” McRobbie said in the email. “For the rest of the spring semester – and into the summer – we need to continue to strictly observe IU’s policies, including masking, social distancing, avoiding crowds and groups, personal hygiene and complying with regular mitigation testing that have proved so effective.”
McRobbie says a return to normalcy in the fall relies on students, faculty and staff getting vaccinated against the virus as soon as they become eligible.
“Because of the outstanding efforts of the entire IU community on all campuses across the state in successfully battling the COVID-19 pandemic over the last year, I am very confident that we will see a successful return to mostly normal university operations in the fall,” McRobbie wrote.
The fall semester is scheduled to begin Aug. 23.
