江苏省溧阳中学国际交流中心


The new Covid-19 has seriously affected the normal life of 
the majority of international students. Traditional 
face-to-face teaching activities have been suspended for 
several months and all have been converted to online learning.
Campus activities such as graduation ceremonies, stage 
performances, and track and field competitions have also been cancelled. Looking at the rising number of the epidemic in the United States, the upcoming fall admission season has become full of uncertainties. 
Many students and parents have doubts: Can American
universities open normally this fall?

1. Harvard University:

The campus will open in the fall of 2020

Harvard University officially announced at the end of April 
that the campus will be open in the fall of 2020, and other 
activities will be held as scheduled, and students can 
return to campus normally.

However, Harvard said that in the next few months, the covid
-19 virus will still be a serious threat, and it will not be
possible to determine that all restored places and 
activities are safe. Therefore, before the official opening,
a lot of preparations will be carried out to ensure that all
Back to school students and faculty are healthy.

However, there may be individual teaching activities/projects
that are different from the past. Specifically, Harvard 
schools will communicate with students, faculty and staff in 
the next few weeks, and provide more guidance on the fall 
courses.

p.s. Harvard previously emptied most of its campuses, such as 
lecture halls, seminar rooms, gymnasiums, art spaces, etc., 
but due to the uncertainty of the virus, the opening of these 
places will depend on the state of the pandemic.

2. Northeastern University:

Plan to start school normally in autumn

On May 9, Northeastern University in the United States sent an email to undergraduate admitted freshmen that it would reopen all campuses this fall for face-to-face (offline) teaching and accommodation.

3. New York University:

Four modes of opening

On May 10th, many graduate programs of New York University 
sent emails to newly admitted students to announce that they 
provided four opening modes.

The four modes are:

(1). Regular Fall Start (Regular Teaching Mode)

To restore the normal teaching mode, traditional offline teaching (In-person Instruction) will be adopted.


(2). Delayed Fall Start (mixed mode)

The background of the hybrid model is that the United States currently suspends all visa services in the world. Whether students can get visas to the school before the start of the fall has become the biggest unknown. For international students, NYU has provided a solution: Yes Classes are conducted online at the beginning of the semester, and offline teaching will not be conducted until the visa is approved and arrived on campus.


(3).Fall Online, Spring on Campus (online)

Students can also choose to take classes online throughout the fall semester, and then switch to offline in the spring semester of 2021.

(4). Spring 2021 Start (postponed admission)

This option means that students can postpone enrollment until the spring of 2021 if the curriculum allows them.




4. Purdue University:

Planning to reopen the campus in Fall 2020

The president of Purdue University said: The new coronavirus 
poses "almost zero fatal threat" to young people.



5. In addition, Some other schools also plan to open 
campuses in the fall Including the University of Alabama 
System, North Carolina, North Dakota, Texas Tech University, 
etc. 
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/04/30/us/universities-students-
returning-fall-2020/index.html

6. Regarding whether school starts in autumn,

Many universities are still under observation

Princeton University sent a letter to all students, faculty 
and staff via email on May 4. Principal Christopher L. 
Eisgruber said in an email that the Princeton community is 
facing a prolonged and destructive public health crisis, and 
this is also a major turmoil in American history.

Therefore, in the past few weeks, the committee and various 
colleges have been discussing whether Princeton has the 
ability to restart face-to-face teaching and research, 
whether it can be conducted in a manner that respects public 
health and safety regulations, and whether it can ensure that 
students and faculty participate in extracurricular activities.
And the health of living on campus.

Under these problems, making decisions becomes extremely 
difficult. Therefore, Princeton University will wait until 
mid-June before deciding how to arrange the fall semester. 
However, whether it is online or face-to-face lectures, it 
will strictly implement the fall semester calendar.

Therefore, the friends who enrolled this year actively 
contact the school, check the school's official website, pay 
attention to the emails sent by the school, pay attention to 
the progress of the fall school, and prepare for both.

Second, choose an online course, or postpone it to Spring 
2021, or re-enter GAP for one year to Fall 2021.

In either case, improving one's English listening and 
speaking skills and reading skills are the most important. 
This is what American universities need most in class. The 
amount of reading in American universities is huge, which is 
a difficult challenge for international students. Moreover, 
if there is no face-to-face guidance or support services from 
the school, it will also be very stressful for international 
students. Therefore, we must lay a solid foundation for the 
transition period.



Attachment: A summary of American universities' 2020 fall 
start plans

At present, it is clear that 180 universities will adopt normal face-to-face teaching in the fall semester:：
Agnes Scott College Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences American University Angelo State University Appalachian State University Arkansas State University Augustana College Austin Peay State University Averett University Baylor University Beacon College Belhaven University Biola University Black Hills State University Boston University Brown University Bryant University California Baptist University Caroll College Catholic University of America Central Christian College of the Bible Chaminade University Chapman University Chowan University Christopher Newport University College of Idaho College of William & Mary Colorado State University Concord University Concordia University Irvine Concordia University St. Paul Concordia University Texas Cornell College Covenant College Daemen College DePaul University Drury University East Carolina Universty Elmhurst College Elon University Emory & Henry College Emporia State University Fairmont State University Florida Institute of Technology Florida Southern College Florida State University Gannon University George Fox University Gonzaga University Hampden-Sydney College Hampshire College Haverford College Hollins University Holy Cross College Huntingdon College Husson University Illinois State University Iowa Board of Regents James Madison University Judson University Laguna College of Art and Design Lake Superior State University Lewis and Clark College Lipscomb Longwood University Loyola Marymount University Lubbock Christian University Macalester College Marquette University Marshall University Marymount Manhattan College Marymount University Maryville College Merrimack College Miami University Middle Tennessee State University Midlands University Midwestern State University Milwaukee School of Engineering Missouri State University Missouri University of Science and Technology Montana State University Mount Union University New Jersey Institute of Technology New York University Nicholls State University North Carolina State University North Dakota University system Northern Michigan University Northwest Missouri State University Nova Southeastern University Ohio Northern University Oklahoma State University Old Dominion University Otterbein University Pace University Pacific Lutheran University Pacific University Purdue University Radford University Randolph College Regis University Rochester Institute of Technology Rockhurst University Saint Mary's College Samford University Santa Monica College Schreiner University Seattle University Seton Hall University Simpson College Southeastern Oklahoma State University Southern Methodist University Southern New Hampshire University Southwestern Oklahoma State University St. Mary’s College of California Stetson University Sweet Briar College Texas A&M University Texas Christian University Texas State University system Texas Tech University Texas Woman's University Thomas Jefferson University Trevecca Nazarene University Trine University Troy University Tulane University University of Alabama system University of Arizona University of Central Florida University of Central Missouri University of Charleston University of Delaware University of Georgia system University of Hawaii University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign University of Kansas University of La Verne University of Lynchburg University of Maine system University of Mary University of Mary Washington University of Maryland system University of Miami University of Michigan University of Missouri at Kansas City University of Mobile University of Nebraska system University of New England University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University of North Carolina at Charlotte University of North Carolina at Greensboro University of North Carolina at Pembroke University of North Texas University of Northern Colorado University of Oklahoma University of Oregon University of Portland University of Puget Sound University of Richmond University of Scranton University of South Alabama University of South Carolina University of South Dakota system University of Southern Mississippi University of Texas system University of the Pacific University of Vermont University of West Alabama Utah System of Higher Education Virginia Commonwealth University Wake Forest University Washington State University West Liberty University Westminster College Wheaton College (Mass.) Whitworth University William Jessup University William Jewell College
There are 13 universities that tend to adopt a combination offace-to-face teaching and online teaching:
Beloit College California Institute of the Arts Centre College Eastern Florida State College Oakland University San Jose State University Southern Utah University University of California at Berkeley University of California at San Diego University of Colorado at Boulder University of Missouri University of Pennsylvania University of Washington
There are 4 universities that have clearly taught online courses:
College of the Desert Santa Rosa Junior College Sierra College Wayne State University
There are 13 universities considering multiple options:
California State University at Fullerton California State University at Northridge Clemson University Dartmouth College Harvard University Indiana University Sarah Lawrence College Syracuse University University of New Haven University of Pittsburgh University of Rochester University of Tennessee at Knoxville West Virginia University
There are 36 universities that have not yet been finalizedand have not given a decision date:
Amherst College Concordia University Nebraska Cornell University Drexel University Duke University Earlham College East Tennessee State University Emerson College Emory University Fisher College Furman University George Mason University George Washington University Northern Illinois University Pennsylvania State University Princeton University Reed College Rhodes College Saint Leo University Shenandoah University Stanford University Stephen F. Austin State University University of Arkansas at Fayetteville University of Chicago University of Connecticut University of Florida University of Houston University of Kentucky University of Notre Dame University of Southern California University of Virginia University of Wisconsin at Madison Virginia Tech Williams College Wofford College Yale University
There are 6 universities that have not yet decided buthave given a decision date:
Claremont Colleges Grand Valley State University Lawrence Technological University University of Denver Ohio State University Middlebury College

The latest arrangements for American universities in the fall of 2020