University of Florida Announces Fall Reopening Plan

GAINESVILLE – The University of Florida on July 10, 2020 released its updated Reopening Plan for the fall semester, which lays out how the university will move forward amid the ongoing pandemic. The Our Plan Forward is a comprehensive guide for students, faculty, staff and community on what the fall semester will entail.

Classes begin Aug. 31, final exams will be completed by Dec. 18, and instructors are encouraged to allow course and exam completion remotely after Thanksgiving break.

Students who registered for fall classes in February will not be required to re-register, although they may need to adjust their schedule in cases where classes have been divided into additional sections to allow for physical distancing.

Class offerings in the fall include some in-person classes that will be smaller to allow for physical distancing.  Some classes will be held outdoors.  There will be more online classes, and some will be hybrids of both in-person and online.  Students who prefer to stay online for the fall semester who can do so while staying on track to graduate on time, are encouraged to configure their schedules accordingly. 

Across all undergraduate, graduate and professional courses, 35 percent of the sections are scheduled to be held in face-to-face or hybrid modes. An additional 35 percent of the sections are scheduled to be delivered in a synchronous, online format where students will be engaging with the instructor and course activities at a prescribed time over the internet.  If the incidence of coronavirus improves during the Fall term, these courses could become face-to-face courses simply by assigning a meeting room. 

Residence halls and dining facilities will be open with modifications that promote necessary physical distancing and other safety measures in alignment with UF Health recommendations.  It is expected that most of the facilities students rely on to be open, including the Southwest Recreation Center, the Libraries, the Reitz Union, and Newell Hall. 

Campus residences will operate with a reduced capacity and will adjust occupancy within some rooms to promote safety. Triple rooms will no longer be available. Masks will not be required within a student’s own room as roommates in residence halls will be treated as a single household. However, face coverings are required in common areas, hallways and outside of rooms where physical distancing may be difficult to maintain.

Campus traditions as well as extracurricular and co-curricular activities will continue to the greatest extent possible, although many will occur in modified fashion.

The entire campus community is expected to continue the standard practices of wearing face coverings – required in all UF facilities – physical distancing, handwashing and staying home when you feel sick. UF also will be expanding enhanced cleaning and safety protocols in residence halls, dining facilities and classrooms with the arrival of the fall semester.

UF has put in place the UF Health Screen, Test & Protect program, which was launched in early May to return faculty, staff and students to campus at no cost to individuals. Every student will receive a letter outlining the screening process.  All students are required to complete a mandatory COVID-19 screening questionnaire. Students also will have access to COVID-19 testing.  

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