Michigan State University to Welcome Students Back to Campus this Fall

(May 27, 2020 4:09 PM) Michigan State University President Samuel L. Stanley Jr. announced the University’s intention to resume in-person campus classes this fall.  In a letter to the University community, Dr. Stanley said the decision was based on guidance from health care professionals, feedback from faculty, staff and students as well as MSU leadership and recommendations from the university’s COVID-19 Reopening Campus Task Force.

In March, MSU suspended nearly all in-person operations at MSU, including research and face-to-face instruction. Since then, the university has taken several steps to enhance overall safety, including increased cleaning standards, establishing a strong supply chain for appropriate amounts of personal protection equipment and partnering with local health care facilities in preparation for an outbreak.

In the letter, Dr. Stanley announces the  Reopening Campus webpage with more details on how the campus will operate in the fall.  The letter describes alterations to the academic calendar, approaches to contact tracing and testing, managing residence halls, and allocating and scheduling our class spaces. 

The campus will remain closed at least through June 12 when the latest Stay at Home Executive Order is due to expire.

Although exemptions are being announced and the shelter order may lift in mid-June, MSU will not have a mass return to work once the shelter order lifts. Employees should remain working from home until otherwise directed by their supervisors. Units and colleges are working on individual return plans, in conjunction with the task force’s principles and guidance, based on job responsibilities and functions.  

Several things about the fall 2020 semester have been decided. MSU will begin classes Wednesday, Sept. 2, as previously scheduled. There will be both in-person and online components to instruction in the fall semester. All in-person instruction will end on Wednesday, Nov. 25, with remaining instruction, study sessions and final examinations moving remotely for the remaining three weeks of the semester. Students will have the option of returning to their permanent residences for the Thanksgiving holiday and not returning to campus, or remaining on campus until the semester ends.

The University says the fall plan is designed to address epidemiologic models that suggest a potential resurgence in COVID-19 cases in December and give students the opportunity to return to their permanent residences before peak influenza season if they choose. 

When students return, physical distancing and the wearing of face masks on campus will be required.  Large gatherings will be strictly limited and regulated.

Stanley recognizes that some students may choose not to return to campus for health or other reasons, and MSU will provide an enhanced selection of remote classes that allow them to begin or continue progress toward their Michigan State University degree.

For new and current international students who may have trouble getting to the campus, Stanley promises to provide remote classes that will allow students to start or continue the pursuit of their MSU degrees.

MSU says more details on all of these topics will follow in future communications.