University President David Wilson announced updated options for students and faculty on Wednesday. While face-to-face instruction is still an option for students and professors, every course will be offered online as well with the implementation of hybrid learning. 

On June 8, Wilson released the university’s initial reopening plan which included the Campus Reopening and Readiness/Preparedness Committee’s recommendations for returning the Morgan community to campus, while mitigating the spread of COVID-19. 

Since then, the university president has convened numerous virtual town hall meetings. Surveys conducted over the summer have revealed student and faculty concerns regarding online learning and campus safety.

“During the summer, more than [200] of our faculty members participated in robust training to enable them to perfect their teaching effectiveness in an online/remote modality,” Wilson said in a university statement.  

Faculty now have the option of delivering their courses online and face-to-face. Students also have the choice of all-online learning or some face-to-face courses. But in-person classes will also be live streamed and accessible online. 

“Many of our students want to return to campus to escape all of the stressors that have engulfed them,” Wilson said. “ Including food insecurity, lack of adequate emotional support, lack of access to appropriate technology to enable them to excel in online/remote instruction, and housing insecurity, to name a few.” 

Students have not been shy about sharing the negative impact being away from college has had on them since the university sent students home in March. 

With the official cancellation of homecoming, reduced dorm capacity, and more, students have shared their desire for a more drastic change in university fees.

Currently, along with the tuition freeze for the 2020-2021 school year, the university will implement a 15 percent reduction in university fees. Wilson said that the 15 percent reduction will be applied to what has been designated as a “Campus Life Fee.” 

The Campus Life Fee includes routine university fees, including student activity fees, athletics, and parking. 

While the upcoming school year may not mirror the traditional university experience, Wilson assured the Morgan community that the administration is “committed to doing more.”