Students will return to Cal U this weekend

By Christine Haines

chaines@yourmvi.com

Students will return to California University of Pennsylvania campus this weekend to get ready for the first in-person classes since last spring.

The new semester starts Jan. 25.

There were no students on campus for the fall semester as all classes were offered remotely. 

Cal U Vice President for Communications and Marketing Christine Kindl said a semester of remote classes gave the university plenty of time to develop COVID-19 safety protocols for the return to campus.

“Students who come back will be expected to be masked at all times unless they are in their own rooms or seated in the dining hall eating,” Kindl said. “Our classrooms are set up to be socially distanced.”

Kindl said about 50% of the university’s classes will be offered on campus for the spring semester.

“Students still have the option to take all their classes remotely if they choose,” Kindl said. “We’re trying to prioritize the classes that are hands-on experiences. We’re offering critical experiential learning for those who need it.”

Kindl said priority in-person classes include offerings such as ceramics and lab sciences, which are difficult to produce remotely.

Just like in pre-pandemic times, Kindl said, students will be able to take a combination of in-person and remote classes. 

Cal U will offer a number of remote classes that will be taught live and may be synchronous with the in-person classes, as well as classes that can be taken at the students’ convenience, particularly at the graduate level when students may work around job and family duties while completing a degree, Kindl said.

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