TUCSON, Ariz. — The University of Arizona will start its spring semester with a majority of courses online and essential courses in person, university President Robert Robbins said Tuesday during a weekly virtual briefing.
Spring semester at the university will be conducted in the same way the fall semester was, the president said.
The "stage one" of the university's campus reentry plan will only allow courses the university has deemed essential, such as certain research labs and performing arts courses, to meet in-person.
Testing efforts will also be ramped up on campus during the upcoming semester, the university said. Students living in dorms or attending classes in person will be required to test weekly.
Around 3,900 students are enrolled in these essential courses, the university said. Public health metrics will reportedly be monitored and in-person classes will be expanded if conditions allow.
"Getting through this semester, even with the vaccine rolling out, we'll have to follow the same playbook we did in the fall semester for the spring semester," Robbins said. "And then hopefully for next fall semester, we'll be back to more like normal."
The university is asking all students arriving from outside Pima County to self-quarantine for seven days, even if they have recently tested negative, and for students to only leave home for essential activities.
A testing blitz for students will start on Jan. 6 and dorm residents will be tested with a nasal swab upon move-in, which begins Jan. 8. Any student who tests positive will be provided with isolation housing.
