Temple considering plans to reopen campus for Fall 2020

The university announced that it will share plans with students by the end of May.

President Richard Englert announced that the university is considering different scenarios to reopen Temple’s campus in the fall in an email to students on Wednesday. 

This email comes after Temple suspended in-person teaching and moved classes online amid the COVID-19 outbreak in March, The Temple News reported. There are 14,006 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 698 deaths in Philadelphia as of today, The Temple News reported.

The university is considering holding smaller classes, limiting the size of gatherings, continuing online learning and employing greater use of online resources, Englert said in the email. William Bergman, Temple’s vice president of public affairs, will be in charge of overseeing the reopening preparations, according to the email.

“For my part, Vice President Bergman and I will continue to speak with the governor’s leadership team and those in the City of Philadelphia, who will be setting state and local guidelines that will affect our future,” Englert wrote in the email.  “I am also working with colleagues from other urban universities around the nation, the leadership of our athletics conference, and especially our Board of Trustees, who are equally devoted to your return.” 

The university president expects to tell students about plans for the future at the end of May, he wrote in the email.

9 Comments

  1. I feel a pretty strong consensus among freshman parents that we’d much prefer a delayed start altogether to virtual learning.
    Many people saying if learning will be virtual their freshmen may take a gap semester or take online classes at a local community college until campus reopens to save money.

    • I would not say that’s the consensus among Freshman parents. My preference is an early start like Notre Dame that might allow more opportunities for pivoting and making adjustments as situations arise.

  2. There is no way to mitigate the spread with freshmen, other students, support staff, dining , being allowed on campus. They will never get the freshman experience if that is what is being sort after. It would be more negative than positive and bad for the PR. It is impossible to do so with all the prep and support that will be required of sensitization. They will never follow or keep the physical distancing as they think they are immune. They can be the carriers and spread it like wildfire once it starts and then the university will need to be shut down. Do not forget it is exponential.
    Parent have to be very concerned of the well being of their children. Having Fall semester completely Online will be the best for all. Do not put anything else before the well being of everyone in these unpredictable times. In couple of years all will recover but short term is what is being sort after is a big mistake that will hang over your heads .

  3. I would prefer the online fall semester because still its not gonna be safe in campus and there is a high risk to get infected

  4. I believe online is the way to go! As a current sophomore at Temple even if things were to “slow down” I don’t know that I would feel 100% safe going back to campus life especially when I come home to others and already work a job that requires me to step out I had to cut my hours tremendously just to have little contact but make money. Granted not the experience I wanted but I think the safety of not just your students but those they live with should come first! So I believe online for fall is the way to go!

  5. Is there any updates on what the plans will be? It’s noted by end of May, however I have not seen any updates on what the plans will be

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