Email suggests not all courses will be offered on campus

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – As university officials start to outline plans to reopen campuses in the fall, Florida State University’s provost on Monday told faculty members it is likely that not all courses will be offered in person.

“My direction for fall at this point is that we plan to offer only face-to-face (FTF) courses that cannot be done through other pedagogies,” FSU Provost Sally E. McRorie wrote in an email to faculty members.

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The email, obtained by The News Service of Florida, did not provide a definitive list of courses that would be offered in person. But McRorie wrote that “some labs and experiential courses that require special equipment or environments or work done in small groups, will be offered” face to face.

“Most other courses will need to be distance learning/remote and be synchronous, asynchronous, or both,” she wrote.

Syd Kitson, chairman of the state university system’s Board of Governors, during a conference call on Tuesday said a task force has been formed to “create a phased-in approach for each function and operation” at universities as officials look at reopening campuses in the fall.

All university students were sent home in March because of the coronavirus and were directed to use distance learning for the rest of the spring semester.

“We will all work together on the fall semester reopening of the state university system in a manner that will minimize the risk of the transmission of the virus by using shared experiences, by taking advantage of the science and medical expertise at our institutions," Kitson said.

Gov. Ron DeSantis’ Re-Open Florida Task Force last week said in its final report that the education system should develop plans to resume “on-campus learning, full-time” next academic year.