BOWLING GREEN, Ohio — Bowling Green State University will return to in-person learning in the fall, University President Rodney Rogers said Tuesday.
The announcement came during a virtual town hall meeting for parents and potential students.
BGSU will be following current CDC guidelines, allowing vaccinated people to take off their masks in most situations. Unvaccinated people, however, are advised to keep their masks on indoors and outdoors when in close proximity with others.
The university's chief health officer, Ben Batey, explained that the main thing to remember is to mask up when in large groups of 10 or more people.
Rogers made clear that vaccinations will not be required of the university's students and faculty, but he did encourage those who are able to get the vaccine to do so.
On June 2, all public health orders in Ohio, except for those in nursing homes and assisted living facilities, will be removed. It will then be up to schools and businesses to decide whether or not they will continue to require masks and social distancing measures.
The university's schedule as it currently stands, Rogers said, was created based upon their assumptions on what COVID-19 guidelines would be. The course structure was organized with six feet of distancing and masking in mind. However, as the university looks at those assumptions, they are now adjusting for what they believe will be in place in the fall -- meaning very limited restrictions.
Rogers told students that the way those courses are delivered will likely be adjusted. For instance, many fully remote classes will likely switch to completely in-person at the same time they were initially scheduled.
The plan, he said, is to have the list of classes and their delivery methods finalized by mid-June.
The university is trying to balance maintaining the innovation that has been made by using tech for learning with getting back to providing opportunities for students and faculty to engage with one another.
You can watch the entire press conference below.
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