UMaine System Planning to Welcome Back Students in the Fall

The University of Maine System is making plans to welcome back students in the fall.

The system has formed a Fall 2020 Safe Return Planning Committee to develop plans and protocols to safely welcome students, employees and the public back to campus.

The goal is to have plans in place if the system gets the green light for face-to-face instruction by late August. Read the press release:

Orono, Maine -- The University of Maine System has formed a Fall 2020 Safe Return Planning Committee to develop operational plans and protocols to safely welcome students, employees, and the public back to campus. Continuing to comply with state health guidance, Maine’s public universities will be ready to return to face-to-face instruction if group gatherings and interaction are permissible and advisable by the end of August.  The universities have also issued a set of assurances and are preparing to adapt to any circumstances to educate UMS students safely and at the highest levels of quality.

Governor Mills and our public health partners are doing an outstanding job leading our state through the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency,” said Chancellor Dannel Malloy.  “If they deem we are ready to begin a return to normalcy by summer’s end, Maine’s public universities will be ready with operational plans and action steps to safely bring students, employees, and the public back to our campuses.

The Fall 2020 Safe Return Planning Committee includes planning leaders from the incident command teams for each campus and a representative from the University of Maine School of Law.  The group held its first organizational meeting last week and is charged with assessing COVID-19 guidance and conditions and developing appropriate actions and protocols that can be implemented to provide for a safe return to campus as Maine begins its return to the new world we all will face in the coming weeks.

Return to Campus Edition of the Presidential Tour -- 6:30 PM, Tuesday, April 21:  The presidents of Maine’s public universities will be discussing plans to welcome students back to campus safely this fall and taking questions from students and families in a special edition of the Presidential Tour streamed live at 6:30 PM on Tuesday, April 21 on the UMS Facebook Page and YouTube Channel.

Public University Assurances for Maine Students and Families

The public health and economic impacts of COVID-19 have created uncertainty for students, families, and employers that Maine’s public universities are addressing with a set of assurances for current and prospective learners.

Maine students and their families can trust our close-to-home and affordable public universities to put their interests and academic success first,” said Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Robert Placido.  “Higher education is always a good choice and we have established a number of academic and admissions assurances to help learners of all ages with their planning for the fall.