Remote or In-person Classes? What 100 Top Colleges Have Decided for the Fall 2020 Semester
Spring 2020 was an unprecedented time in higher education. Thousands of campuses across the country took their classes online to adhere to social distancing measures, policies which persisted for the remainder of the semester and culminated in virtual graduations for the Class of 2020.
Now, as the fall semester approaches, the status of in-person classes is constantly shifting. Many universities agree that packed 300-person lectures won’t be feasible, but aren’t sure about smaller, in-person classes. A few universities are taking proactive measures to cancel in-person teaching altogether, while many are establishing a mix of in-person and online classes, leaning heavily on additional safety measures such as social distancing guidelines or mask mandates. Based on our analysis of 100 top colleges, from the overall U.S. News Top 50 schools to public universities to HBCUs, it appears that many universities are planning to bring students on campus in some capacity. However, 'in-person' varies widely from college to college. For some colleges, it means that only freshmen will be brought to campus for the first semester. For other colleges, it means that classes requiring in-person work – like lab work – or small classes will take place in person.
The variance in guidelines along with the shifting COVID-19 hotspots makes it a challenge to pin down the status of universities with certainty. Every month, we’ll be updating this article to reflect the decisions made by colleges and universities regarding on-campus, in-person classes this fall to serve as a resource for students, administrators, and university recruitment teams seeking updates. As of mid-July, these are the decisions of 100 schools below.
This article was last updated on July 15th, 2020.
Top 50 Colleges in the U.S. (A-Z)
Below, we’ve listed the status of fall classes for the U.S. News Top 50 Colleges and Universities in alphabetical order.
Boston College
Status: Resuming on-campus classes in-person in the fall.
Boston University
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and virtual classes in the fall.
Brandeis University
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and virtual classes in the fall.
Brown University
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and virtual classes in the fall with a “de-densified” campus.
California Institute of Technology
Status: Planning to resume on-campus classes in-person in the fall, but monitoring the situation.
Carnegie Mellon University
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall.
Case Western Reserve University
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall.
College of William and Mary
Status: Resuming on-campus classes in-person in the fall.
Columbia University
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall.
Cornell University
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall.
Dartmouth College
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall with a “de-densified” campus.
Duke University
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall.
Emory University
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall, but monitoring the situation.
Georgetown University
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall.
Georgia Institute of Technology
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall.
Harvard University
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall.
Johns Hopkins University
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall.
Lehigh University
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and online classes—only rising seniors will be allowed on campus in the fall.
New York University
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall.
Northeastern University
Status: Resuming on-campus classes in-person in the fall.
Northwestern University
Status: Resuming in-person classes for most undergraduate and graduate students in the fall.
Princeton University
Status: Resuming on-campus classes in-person for one semester in the fall.
Rice University
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall.
Stanford University
Status: Resuming on-campus classes in-person for one semester in the fall.
Tufts University
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall.
Tulane University
Status: Resuming on-campus classes in-person in the fall.
University of California -- Berkeley
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall.
University of California -- Davis
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall.
University of California -- Irvine
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall.
University of California -- Los Angeles
Status: Expected to have a mix of in-person and virtual classes in the fall.
University of California -- San Diego
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall.
University of California -- Santa Barbara
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall.
University of Chicago
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall.
University of Florida
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall.
University of Illinois -- Urbana-Champaign
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall.
University of Michigan -- Ann Arbor
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall.
University of North Carolina -- Chapel Hill
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall.
University of Notre Dame
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall.
University of Pennsylvania
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall.
University of Rochester
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall.
University of Southern California
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall.
University of Texas -- Austin
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall.
University of Virginia
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall.
University of Wisconsin -- Madison
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall.
Vanderbilt University
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall.
Villanova University
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall.
Wake Forest University
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall.
Washington University in St. Louis
Status: No decision confirmed yet.
Yale University
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall.
Top 30 Public Schools (A-Z)
Below, we’ve listed the status of fall classes for the U.S. News Top 30 Public Colleges and Universities in alphabetical order, excluding public schools listed previously above.
Auburn University
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall.
Binghamton University -- SUNY
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall.
Clemson University
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall.
Colorado School of Mines
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall.
Florida State University
Status: Planning to resume on-campus classes in the fall, but monitoring the situation.
Indiana University -- Bloomington
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall.
Miami University -- Oxford
Status: Planning to resume on-campus classes in the fall, but monitoring the situation.
Michigan State University
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall.
New Jersey Institute of Technology
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall.
North Carolina State University -- Raleigh
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall.
Ohio State University -- Columbus
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall.
Pennsylvania State University -- University Park
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall.
Purdue University -- West Lafayette
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall.
Rutgers University -- New Brunswick
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall.
Stony Brook University -- SUNY
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall.
Temple University
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall.
Texas A&M University -- College Station
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall.
University at Buffalo -- SUNY
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall.
University of California -- Riverside
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall.
University of California -- Santa Cruz
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall.
University of Connecticut
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall.
University of Delaware
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall.
University of Georgia
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall.
University of Iowa
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall.
University of Maryland -- College Park
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall.
University of Massachusetts -- Amherst
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall.
University of Minnesota -- Twin Cities
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall.
University of Pittsburgh
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall.
University of Washington
Status: Planning to resume on-campus classes in the fall, but monitoring the situation.
Virginia Tech
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall.
Top 20 HBCUs (A-Z)
Below, we’ve listed the status of fall classes for the U.S. News Top 30 Historically Black Colleges and Universities in alphabetical order, excluding schools listed previously above.
Claflin University
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall.
Clark Atlanta University
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall.
Delaware State University
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall.
Dillard University
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall.
Fisk University
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall.
Florida A&M University
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall.
Hampton University
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall.
Howard University
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall.
Jackson State University
Status: Planning to resume on-campus classes in the fall, but monitoring the situation.
Lincoln University
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall.
Morehouse College
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall.
Morgan State University
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall.
North Carolina A&T State University
Status: Planning to resume a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall.
North Carolina Central University
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall.
Spelman College
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall.
Tougaloo University
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall.
Tuskegee University
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall.
University of Maryland -- Eastern Shore
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall.
Winston-Salem State University
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall.
Xavier University of Louisiana
Status: Resuming a mix of in-person and online classes in the fall.
These are just 100 of the academic institutions that are grappling with the decisions of whether or not to open up this fall. As shown above, many colleges and universities are adopting a hybrid model of instruction with additional precautions. However, the uncertainty sparked by COVID-19 means these decisions are subject to change as conditions evolve. We will continue to update this article as more and more institutions release or update their official decisions for fall classes.
