Harvard moves classes online for upcoming academic year, increases tuition
Harvard University announced all classes will be offered online for the upcoming fall semester because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The school announced it will bring back 40 percent of undergraduates to campus, with seniors being the priority.
The Ivy League institution said tuition will "remain as announced."
Harvard University is moving all of its classes to online instruction for the upcoming academic year, citing ongoing concerns surrounding the coronavirus pandemic. In a statement published on the university website, Harvard announced that all undergraduate and graduate students, including those who live on campus, will take online classes.
The school also outlined a plan to bring back approximately 40 percent of all undergraduate students, with priority given to seniors. All first-year freshman students will be invited to campus in the fall but would be required to leave in the spring.
Additionally, students “who may not be able to learn successfully” in remote learning environments are also invited back to campus.
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“Without a vaccine or effective clinical treatments for the virus, we know that no choice that reopens the campus is without risk,” the university said in the statement. “That said, we have worked closely with leading epidemiologists and medical experts to define an approach that we believe will protect the health and safety of our community, while also protecting our academic enterprise and providing students with the conditions they need to be successful academically.”
Notably, Harvard said tuition would “remain as announced.” According to Harvard’s website, the total tuition cost for the 2019-2020 academic year was $47,730. For the 2020-2021 academic year, the cost of tuition will be $49,653.
While expressing sympathy for sophomore and junior students who would likely not be able to return to campus, Harvard said students who spend the year studying remotely would be able to attend the Summer School in Cambridge program “without tuition charge.”
Harvard’s decision to move online follows a similar announcement from the California State University system, which also said it would continue online in the fall.
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