President Renu Khator announced the appointment of a UH System reopening task force on Thursday and said in an email the University expects to resume face-to-face instruction in Fall 2020.
Although UH expects a return to classroom normalcy come August, the University, Khator said, is prepared for three scenarios: “fully online, full on campus and some form of hybrid.”
“We are closely monitoring public health conditions in the state and the city and will provide further instructions for the next phase based on future developments,” she said.
The decision on how to proceed with classroom instruction, however, will have to wait until sometime in late May or early June.
“Until then, faculty and staff — with the exception of those who choose to open their labs or are classified as essential support personnel — will continue to work from home,” Khator said.
The task force, headed by Vice Chancellor Amr Elnashai and UH-Victoria President Robert Glenn, is expected to reopen the UH System in four phases:
- Resume research operations
- Low-touch, low-risk administrative operations
- All operations and athletics
- Finally, classroom instruction
The decision comes after Gov. Greg Abbott earlier this week announced a plan to reopen Texas that includes allowing some business to open as early as Friday.
With some research labs set to voluntary reopen on May 5, Khator assured all Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state guidelines on social distancing will be followed.
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“Khator appoints UH System reopening task force, expects to resume face-to-face instruction in fall” was originally posted on The Cougar