Northeastern University plans to reopen on-campus classrooms and dorms in the fall, but things might look different.
Northeastern University intends to reopen campus for the fall semester 2020, the school said in an email sent to students Friday.
“This is a highly complex endeavor; in fact, even more complicated than the move to remote learning and working we accomplished in March,” Northeastern President Joseph E. Aoun wrote in the email.
Like many other colleges and universities, Northeastern transitioned to remote learning in March due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Aoun said the timeline for reopening will be different across the university’s campuses. A gradual opening on the Boston campus could begin later this month.
“It will require new and innovative thinking about classroom usage, residential occupancy, dining, athletics, student activities and other elements of campus life," Aoun wrote. "Rest assured that every aspect of how the university operates is being evaluated in the context of our new reality."
A variety of safety protocols and procedures will be used in the reopening process, Aoun said, like face masks, staggered business hours, increased disinfection and cleaning, use of the SafeZone app to check into campus buildings and large-scale deployment of testing and contact tracing.
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Northeastern students recently filed a class-action lawsuit against the university, alleging that the school enriched itself and breached its contract with students still paying tuition during the shutdown.
Nearby schools like Boston University have said they’re looking into a variety of options for the fall, including reopening campus and continuing remote learning.
