As the number of COVID-19 cases within North Carolina continue to skyrocket, UNC announced that it will begin it’s spring semester remotely.

In a message to the campus community on Thursday, Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz revealed all undergraduate classes will be held remotely for the first three weeks of the spring semester. The start date for courses, however, is still scheduled for Tuesday, January 19.

“With record COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in North Carolina and around the country,” Guskiewicz said in a letter, “we are making adjustments to our spring semester to provide as much flexibility as possible for a safe return to campus. We are making these changes with the health of our campus and the community in mind.”

For undergraduate students, classes that were scheduled to meet in-person will meet remotely until February 8. Classes that were already scheduled to meet remotely will continue in that mode of instruction. Grading accommodations from fall 2020 will be extended for the spring 2021 semester.

In addition to beginning the semester remotely, the limited number of students who planned to live on campus this spring will have more flexibility on when they can move back into their residential halls. Residents will have the option to move into single-occupancy housing beginning on January 13 or to delay their move through February 7.

According to the university, Carolina Housing will follow up with students with additional information about confirming or modifying their move-in date. Housing fees will be prorated according to when students choose to move in.

“We have carefully analyzed the data and consulted with our campus public health and infectious disease experts, the chair of the faculty, the chair of the Employee Forum, the student body president, UNC Health, county health officials and the UNC System to inform these decisions,” Guskiewicz said. “We have also heard from students and parents and want to offer them maximum flexibility as we head into the spring semester under the current circumstances.”

In the fall, the Orange County Health Department recommended UNC begin the school year with virtual classes and restrict on-campus housing to at-risk students with housing needs. The university ultimately moved to remote learning during the fall 2020 semester after 130 students and five employees tested positive for the coronavirus the first week of classes.

Since then, UNC leadership has shared new plans for how around 3,500 undergraduate students could safely live on campus. Changes from the fall semester include requiring single-room occupancy in residence halls, a rigorous COVID-19 testing plan and the reduced campus population.

The twice-a-week coronavirus testing for undergraduate students living on campus will still be required for those who return to residence halls in January.

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