CHARLOTTE, N.C. — University of North Carolina at Charlotte leaders held a town hall for students and parents Friday ahead of move-in weekend. Some students will be returning to campus for in-person classes starting October 1.
Classes were supposed to begin in-person on September 7 but after coronavirus cases popped up on college campuses across the country, school leaders decided to start the semester online. Now, only some students will move to face to face instruction.
“Those needing specialized equipment or hands on learning and those students needing a connection as they're transitioning to UNC Charlotte,” Chancellor Sharon Gaber said on the town hall meeting.
Students who move back to campus will have to follow safety protocols like wearing masks, social distancing in class, dorms and dining halls, and filling out a health assessment every day. Students, staff and faculty will be required to get a flu shot by November 16.
Some cases on campus are to be expected but university officials say they have protocols in place to handle clusters on campus.
“The testing team will send over a door to door service task force to test all the students in the building. That will be sent to the lab and the expectation is to have the results within 24. From there, anyone positive will quarantine as well as those in close contact,” said John Bogdan.
When students move in, they will not have a roommate. The university giving every student their own bedroom. The Director of Resident Life said they are anticipating about 3,500 students to live on campus this year. 30,000 are enrolled for the semester. Students who will not return have until 11:59 on September 25 to cancel housing.
This time on campus is limited to 6 weeks. After Thanksgiving break, classes and exams will be back online.
“People travel and they come back to campus and we were trying to reduce the possibility in bringing back the virus in mass,” said Chancellor Gaber.
Senior Andrew McLean graduates in December and wants to finish his college experience with his friends but said he wouldn’t feel safe going to his classes in person, even though he’s frustrated he’s paying the price to.
“It is another frustration that they aren't changing tuition rates when we're only meeting online this semester,” said McLean.
University officials say they have not come up with a plan for the spring semester yet.