> Skip to content
FEATURED:
  • The Evolution of Race in Admissions
Sign In
  • News
  • Advice
  • The Review
  • Data
  • Current Issue
  • Virtual Events
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
Sign In
  • News
  • Advice
  • The Review
  • Data
  • Current Issue
  • Virtual Events
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
  • News
  • Advice
  • The Review
  • Data
  • Current Issue
  • Virtual Events
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
Sign In
ADVERTISEMENT
clu-icon.jpg

Live Coronavirus Updates: As Omicron Looms, These Colleges Will Start Their January Classes Online

Tracking the impact of the pandemic on higher education

  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Show more sharing options
Share
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Email
  • Copy Link URLCopied!
  • Print

As Omicron Looms, These Colleges Will Start Their January Classes Online

By  Francie Diep
December 22, 2021
Photo illustration of hands holding phone with classroom scene on screen
Photo illustration by The Chronicle

More than a dozen residential colleges have announced in recent days that they will teach classes online when students return from winter break, in January. The precautionary measures come as the Omicron variant of the coronavirus is spreading rapidly around the country.

We’re sorry. Something went wrong.

We are unable to fully display the content of this page.

The most likely cause of this is a content blocker on your computer or network. Please make sure your computer, VPN, or network allows javascript and allows content to be delivered from c950.chronicle.com and chronicle.blueconic.net.

Once javascript and access to those URLs are allowed, please refresh this page. You may then be asked to log in, create an account if you don't already have one, or subscribe.

If you continue to experience issues, contact us at 202-466-1032 or help@chronicle.com

More than a dozen residential colleges have announced in recent days that they will teach classes online when students return from winter break, in January. The precautionary measures come as the Omicron variant of the coronavirus is spreading rapidly around the country.

On college campuses and elsewhere, Omicron has shown itself to be highly contagious and able to infect vaccinated people. Many experts fear the current large wave of infections will crest in the new year, just as many students are returning for winter, spring, and intersession terms. Delaying the in-person components of a term that begins in January could give colleges time to assess the situation, said Anita Barkin, co-chair of American College Health Association’s Covid-19 task force.

“It will provide schools with a little extra time to try and evaluate how safe and reasonable it is for them to reconvene the in-person experience,” she said.

Some colleges’ announcements also say the time will allow more community members to get booster shots, which are thought to improve immunity against Omicron, and administrators to run a round of testing and isolation as needed, as students return from their holiday travels.

ADVERTISEMENT

The University of California at San Diego is one campus that will be holding classes remotely for two weeks at the start of its winter quarter. Modeling by San Diego researchers showed that, assuming a surge of coronavirus cases timed around the new year, the university could need 400 isolation rooms if everyone returned at once. It has only about 200 available. So leaders decided to hold classes online while encouraging residential students to move in throughout the two weeks, said Pradeep K. Khosla, the chancellor. Students and employees must get tested the day they return to campus. By spreading out the move-in, administrators hope they’ll never need more than 200 isolation spots at the same time.

Campus messages vary in how cautious — or enthusiastic — they are about colleges’ ability to return to a fully in-person experience after the online period is over. Barkin falls on the more cautious side. “Given the evolving pandemic scenario, it is very difficult to make promises,” she said. Returning to in-person instruction in later January “can be your expectation, but the caveat has to be that if the situation changes, we will change our plans accordingly.”

The table below is not comprehensive and updated only as of January 4, 2022.

The Chronicle derived this list of institutions from several sources, including Davidson College’s College Crisis Initiative‘s tracking efforts as well as this crowdsourced document.

Online LearningHealth & WellnessTeaching & LearningInnovation & TransformationRisk ManagementBreaking News
Francie Diep
Francie Diep is a senior reporter covering money in higher education. Email her at francie.diep@chronicle.com.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
  • Explore
    • Get Newsletters
    • Letters
    • Free Reports and Guides
    • Blogs
    • Virtual Events
    • Chronicle Store
    • Find a Job
    Explore
    • Get Newsletters
    • Letters
    • Free Reports and Guides
    • Blogs
    • Virtual Events
    • Chronicle Store
    • Find a Job
  • The Chronicle
    • About Us
    • DEI Commitment Statement
    • Write for Us
    • Talk to Us
    • Work at The Chronicle
    • User Agreement
    • Privacy Policy
    • California Privacy Policy
    • Site Map
    • Accessibility Statement
    The Chronicle
    • About Us
    • DEI Commitment Statement
    • Write for Us
    • Talk to Us
    • Work at The Chronicle
    • User Agreement
    • Privacy Policy
    • California Privacy Policy
    • Site Map
    • Accessibility Statement
  • Customer Assistance
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise With Us
    • Post a Job
    • Advertising Terms and Conditions
    • Reprints & Permissions
    • Do Not Sell My Personal Information
    Customer Assistance
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise With Us
    • Post a Job
    • Advertising Terms and Conditions
    • Reprints & Permissions
    • Do Not Sell My Personal Information
  • Subscribe
    • Individual Subscriptions
    • Institutional Subscriptions
    • Subscription & Account FAQ
    • Manage Newsletters
    • Manage Your Account
    Subscribe
    • Individual Subscriptions
    • Institutional Subscriptions
    • Subscription & Account FAQ
    • Manage Newsletters
    • Manage Your Account
1255 23rd Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20037
© 2023 The Chronicle of Higher Education
  • twitter
  • instagram
  • youtube
  • facebook
  • linkedin