Central Connecticut announced it will reopen its campus for the fall 2020 semester with new guidelines and regulations for faculty, staff and students.

The university is looking to begin classes on August 26, with residence halls opening on August 24.

During the fall 2020 semester, courses will vary between online learning and the new HyFlex method, in which faculty and staff may teach with the option for students to attend lessons in the classroom or online. “Live” classes will be recorded for students to playback lessons after class for future use.

The campus will then be closed after Thanksgiving break, with the last week of classes and final exams being conducted online for the remainder of the semester.

“This demanding work is advancing at an intense pace, but we remain focused on our primary goal to establish a safe work and learning environment as we continue our long tradition of providing our students with a quality education,” President Dr. Zulma Toro stated in an email to CCSU students.

All members of the CCSU community must be tested for coronavirus prior to returning to campus.

“The greatest hurdles at this point are testing and contact tracing,” Dr. Toro said. “Though the state will cover the cost of the tests, each university is responsible for establishing the process and administration of the tests.”

Those with questions concerning their health and safety are urged to reach out to the university.

CCSU will be submitting these strategies to the state for individual approval to reopen.

The university’s announcement came moments after Connecticut State Colleges and Universities President Mark Ojakian stated higher education institutions will be permitted to reopen physical campuses for the fall 2020 semesters if specific guidelines are met. This includes compliance with conditions and regulations set by public health experts and Governor Ned Lamont’s ReOpen CT Advisory Committee plan.

As part of this, each institution must create four plans:
1. A plan for repopulation of the campus
2. A plan for monitoring health conditions to detect infection
3. A plan for containment to prevent spread of the disease when detected
4. A plan for shutdown in the event it becomes necessary

“Our priority has been and will continue to be the safety of our students, faculty and staff. That will not change as we move forward in our thoughtful and deliberative planning process to welcome students back to our campuses in August,” Ojakian stated in an email sent to all CCSU students.