Yale announces return to in-person learning for fall semester

Yale University will return to in-person learning in the upcoming fall semester. 

Yale President Peter Salovey and Provost Scott Strobel wrote that they plan to open up the university and hold full residential programs for undergraduates in a recent letter to the Yale community. The wide availability of vaccines has allowed the school to prepare for an in-person semester, although the plan has not been finalized yet, administrators wrote.

At least 70% of residents in Connecticut are forecasted to have taken the vaccine by the end of the summer, according to the letter. Administrators wrote that if this proportion is reached, Yale can safely welcome students back to campus. 

Some safety measures will remain, however, including requiring students to wear masks and participate in asymptomatic COVID-19 testing. Other measures include adjusting classroom limits, density, and allowing remote learning in the beginning of the semester to accommodate students in their transition back to an in-person learning environment, according to the letter. 

Campus facilities, including dining halls, fitness centers and museums are set to open with safety measures in place. 

Penn also plans to bring students back on campus and return to in-person learning, according to an email sent by top Penn administrators to the faculty on March 15, although a specific plan has yet to be worked out. 

Penn students expressed excitement at the prospect of returning to campus for an in-person semester and praised the University’s plan. Some students have asked, however, for a continued remote learning option. 

Currently, about 13.7% of the total population in Philadelphia have been fully vaccinated, and 24.6% of residents have received at least one dose of the vaccine, according to the City of Philadelphia.