UNC has paused undergraduate classes on Monday and Tuesday of next week as students transition to virtual learning for the remainder of the fall semester.

In a message to the campus community, UNC Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz said the university made the decision to allow students to “catch their breath” amid the coronavirus pandemic.

“To our students, we recognize that the past two weeks have been a roller coaster for many of you, especially those who came to Chapel Hill only to experience a growing number of COVID cases on our campus,” Guskiewicz wrote. “Those escalating numbers and the ensuing change of plans created turmoil, and as a result, you are now making significant changes to your daily lives and the plans you had for your semester.”

Undergraduate classes will resume on Wednesday, August 26. Additionally, the university is extending the deadline until August 31 for undergraduate students to drop classes without receiving a “W” mark and have their tuition pro-rated accordingly.

The university also announced that it will implement testing for students and employees in three residence halls — Ehringhaus, Hinton James, and Granville Towers — after additional cases were reported. Testing for students will operate from Friday through Sunday.

Students and employees in the residence halls will receive an email with instructions for the testing process. Campus Health will shift operations through the weekend and focus on mass testing for residence hall students. Previously scheduled appointments through Campus Health will be rescheduled, with priority given to urgent needs.

“You have already overcome so much on your academic journeys, and we are proud to have you as part of our University community,” Guskiewicz wrote. “We have successfully transitioned to remote instruction before, and we will do it again.”

This decision from UNC comes as the university is experiencing an outbreak of coronavirus on campus.

Earlier this week, UNC moved all undergraduate courses online for the remainder of the fall semester after 130 students tested positive for coronavirus and four clusters were identified in the first week of classes.

The university also shifted its approach with its COVID-19 dashboard on Thursday, moving from a weekly update to daily. Per the dashboard, 199 students have tested positive for coronavirus since Monday, including 91 alone on Wednesday.

UNC’s dashboard reflects 14.1 percent of coronavirus tests among students have returned positive since the university began testing in February.

UNC Athletics also extended its suspension of athletic activities until Friday after it was originally set to expire on Thursday at 5 p.m. “We will continue to work with the University to evaluate the situation,” said a university spokesperson.

Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees. You can support local journalism and our mission to serve the community. Contribute today – every single dollar matters.

Related Stories
‹
UNC Announces Calendar for Spring 2021 Semester, Delays Start by 2 Weeks
UNC has announced its calendar for the spring 2021 semester amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, which will include a delayed start. “We have been carefully listening to the voices of our community as we consider the important lessons learned from planning for the fall and prepare to make updates to our Roadmap to offer classes […]
Coronavirus at UNC: A Timeline
UNC is one of the first major universities to move back to remote instruction this fall after attempting to hold in-person instruction amid the COVID-19 pandemic. What happened between the last time in-person instruction was held and when UNC students were asked to leave the Chapel Hill campus once again? Chapelboro’s extensive reporting laid out […]
Read Letters From the Orange County Health Department, UNC Faculty, Local Elected Officials Regarding UNC's Reopening
On July 29, Orange County Health Director Quintana Stewart submitted a letter to UNC campus leadership urging the university to begin the semester with virtual classes due to the coronavirus pandemic. The letter was shared with the county’s Board of Commissioners on Monday, August 3 and has since gone viral on social media. Read the letter […]
Orange County Recommends UNC Begin Fall Semester Virtually, Restrict On-Campus Housing
The Orange County Health Department is recommending that UNC consider begin the fall 2020 semester with virtual classes and restrict on-campus housing to at-risk students with housing needs. Orange County Health Director Quintana Stewart said in a July 29 letter to campus leadership that she “received a massive amount of emails from community members, UNC […]
COVID-19 Cluster Reported at UNC's Avery Residence Hall
UNC has identified a cluster of COVID-19 cases at Avery Residence Hall on campus. This is the second COVID-19 cluster identified at UNC in 2021 and the first since the spring semester began on January 19. Earlier this month, a cluster was identified at Carmichael Residence Hall between students who lived on campus during winter […]
UNC: New COVID-19 Cluster at Rams Village, 13th Reported on Campus
UNC has notified the campus community of another COVID-19 cluster on campus, this time at Rams Village Building #5. This is the 13th COVID-19 cluster reported on the university’s campus. A cluster is five or more positive COVID-19 cases, according to North Carolina Health and Human Services. Officials said the individuals in the cluster have been identified and […]
UNC Reports New COVID-19 Cluster at Residence Hall, 12th on Campus
UNC has notified the campus community of another COVID-19 cluster on campus, this time at Cobb residence hall. This is the 12th COVID-19 cluster reported on the university’s campus. A cluster is five or more positive COVID-19 cases, according to North Carolina Health and Human Services. Officials said the individuals in the cluster have been identified and are […]
New COVID-19 Cluster Identified at UNC Residence Hall, 11th on Campus
A new COVID-19 cluster has been identified at Koury residence hall on UNC’s campus on Tuesday afternoon. An AlertCarolina message said “the individuals in this cluster have been identified and are isolating and receiving medical monitoring.” A cluster is five or more positive COVID-19 cases, according to state health guidelines. !Alert Carolina! Emergency Notification: Cluster of COVID-19 […]
UNC Athletics Resumes Activities Following Temporary Suspension
UNC Athletics announced over the weekend that teams will resume athletic activities in the coming days. Men’s and women’s basketball, cross country, field hockey, men’s and women’s soccer and volleyball will resume activities on Sunday. Meanwhile, football has opted to return to practice on Monday. Other winter and spring sports will continue to pause […]
UNC to Pause Classes, Reports More Than 90 COVID-19 Cases in 1 Day
UNC has paused undergraduate classes on Monday and Tuesday of next week as students transition to virtual learning for the remainder of the fall semester. In a message to the campus community, UNC Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz said the university made the decision to allow students to “catch their breath” amid the coronavirus pandemic. “To our […]
›