Several private universities in the United States such as Harvard, Howard, Stanford, Syracuse and Northwestern plan to resume classes in a virtual environment for at least part of the spring semester.
While in Florida, the private University of Miami announced last week that it will switch to distance learning during the first two weeks of the spring semester, due to the increase in COVID-19 cases, Florida Phoenix reported .
But so far, none of Florida’s public universities are making that transition during the spring 2022 academic semester, despite concerns from teachers’ union leaders that officials are not making the right decisions to protect students. campus communities throughout Florida.
“We are very disappointed with the overall response to COVID in institutions of higher learning,” said Andrew Gothard, president of the United College of Florida.
Governor Ron DeSantis stated in a press conference Monday that Florida’s public schools, as well as the state’s public universities, must remain open for in-person instruction.
“Our schools will be open in the state of Florida,” DeSantis told reporters, adding, “I would also say the same with our state universities… Our universities are going to be open, our state universities. They are going to have in-person instruction, and I think any college that doesn’t should have to refund 100% of the tuition to parents. “
Amid the skyrocketing increase in COVID-19 cases and the highly communicable omicron variant that continues to sweep across the country, leaders of Florida’s public university system say they are taking precautions.
Other universities
Renee Fargason, a spokeswoman for the Florida State University System, confirmed that “none of our universities are going to be remote” in the coming spring semester of 2022.
At Florida State University in Tallahassee, President Richard McCullough sent a message to the university community last week, providing details on security procedures for the upcoming semester, according to spokeswoman Amy Farnum-Patronis.
“Medical grade face masks, such as the N95 or KN95 masks, will be expected on campus,” said the FSU president. “Cloth masks are less effective against highly communicable variants like Delta and Omicron.”
