The return of sports at the collegiate level has been ever-changing conversation. The situation surround the pandemic or COVID-19 outbreak has been a fluid one. For the University of Texas it has been no different than anyone else.
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On Monday, the office of the University’s Presidents office release plans for the return to campus for athletes and students.
Every person in our community has unique circumstances and concerns to contend with during this difficult time. Our faculty and staff members have stepped up to adapt courses and develop an innovative range of formats for teaching and learning, including adding additional online courses in recent weeks, and their efforts will continue throughout the summer. For students and families, we want you to have the ability to make informed choices about how you experience the fall semester, while keeping in mind that COVID-19 and its spread in Texas will continue to shape the exact ways we teach, learn, work and conduct research on and off campus. We are also reimagining student life activities, to hold them either fully or partially online or in outdoor spaces.
- The dates for the semester outlined in the release show that the fall semester will begin on August 26, 2020 and run through November 25th. Final exams will take place online from December 7-10th.
- Students may choose whether to attend classes in person or online.
- Classes will take place between 8 am and 8 pm with no classrooms to reach more than 40% capacity
- Online, in-person and hybrid classes will be the three options available. Hybrid will have a mix of online and in person classes.
The release goes on to detail how cloth masks are mandatory on campus for in person classes or when out on the campus grounds. They are not mandatory when in the dorm. The school and Big 12 Conference are still putting together a plan for the athletic departments.
- The university is developing policies and procedures for hosting football games and other athletics events this fall pursuant to state, local and Big 12 Conference health and safety guidelines. UT expects to narrow the scenarios under consideration by the first week of August.
- We are also implementing policies and procedures to return essential coaches, athletics staff and all student-athletes to campus in the fall for practice/competition pursuant to guidance by the CDC, state and local officials and athletics and campus medical staff.
- For more information, please read the Athletics COVID-19 Policies and Procedures Manuals. – per the release
You can read the full release from the University using the following link;