YPSILANTI, Mich. — Eastern Michigan University is delaying move-in to residence halls until Sept. 17 and said it will be transitioning nearly all fall semester classes online through Sept. 20.
Fall courses are set to begin on Aug. 31. Move-in was scheduled to happen on Aug. 27.
According to EMU Today, the decision follows an assessment by the multiple committees overseeing the return to campus. The re-examination came as reports show the re-opening of campuses across the country lead to increased outbreaks of COVID-19 among students, as well as challenges surrounding limited social gatherings and parties.
“From the outset of our planning process, we have stated that the health, safety and well-being of our campus community were paramount in our actions,” said James Smith, president of Eastern Michigan University. “We also made clear that we would evolve our planning in order to be responsive to the changing science, data, government directives and other critical information regarding COVID-19.
“The events of the last week at campuses across the region and nation demonstrate that despite the best efforts to keep students, employees and communities safe from transmission, the dangers of increasing the spread of the virus and the challenges of maintaining physical distance and safe behavior heading into Labor Day weekend remain quite serious.”
EMU Today said a small number of students including international students and some student-athletes have already moved in to residence halls and will be allowed to remain if they choose to. Students who have made housing and dining deposits or payments will receive a full pro-rata credit of those deposits and payments for the time period between their original move-in day and their new move-in day.
In-person, on-campus courses were scheduled to make up approximately 20-25% of classes for the fall semester. Following Monday's announcement, EMU said it will transition most in-person classes to an online format for the start of the semester on Aug. 31 through Sept. 20.
There will be a small number of exceptions to allow in-person instruction primarily within the School of Nursing and other schools in the College of Health and Human Services.
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