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University Of Arizona Plan For Spring Semester Includes Some In-Person Classes, Expanded COVID-19 Testing For Students

By Rocio Hernandez
Published: Monday, November 9, 2020 - 3:11pm

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University of Arizona Old Main
Justin Stabley/KJZZ
University of Arizona Old Main in Tucson.

University of Arizona officials are preparing for the spring semester with a limited number of in-person classes. Those will include courses that the university has deemed essential as well as classes of 50 students and under, said University President Robert Robbins in a Monday press conference.

“For this plan to succeed, we need all students, faculty, staff and visitors to follow public health guidelines: Cover your face, wash your hands, stay appropriately physically distanced," he said. 

If health conditions permit, Robbins said the university could also allow classes of up to 100 students to begin in-person instruction later in the semester. 

“But as I see things right now, with increasing cases, I think that is a remote possibility," he said. 

Classes of more than 100 students will be delivered remotely throughout the entire semester, Robbins said. All students who are coming on-campus for in-person classes will need to be tested. That will expand on the testing strategy implemented this fall, in which students living in dorms were required to take a COVID-19 test prior to move-in.

Spring semester students who have tested positive for COVID-19 within 90 days will not need to be retested per Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance, but will need to provide documentation, Robbins said. There will also be exemptions for religious and disability reasons. 

Students can register for spring semester classes starting Monday. 

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