BU Planning For Hybrid Remote/In-Person Graduate Classes This Fall

Boston University plans to hold classes in the fall in a hybrid format, offering simultaneous on-campus learning and remote learning for 44 of its graduate and professional programs.

Under the plan, some students would be able to take classes physically on campus while others would join remotely — either in real time or on their own schedule. The plans are aimed at accommodating safety restrictions that may be in place in the fall due to the coronavirus outbreak, according to a university news article Wednesday.

BU also plans to follow physical distancing guidance, potentially limiting the number of students allowed per classroom.

Approximately 30 other graduate programs are being considered for transition. BU says students enrolled in affected programs will be notified as soon as it finalizes a list of programs that will be transitioning to the new format.

In a statement, University President Robert Brown says that the changes are "about BU building its capacity to enable students to access the classroom in ways that both meet their own health and safety needs and comport with any public health or travel restrictions that might be in place this fall.”

Earlier this month, the university announced it was deploying five working groups to assess how the school might resume research, classes and residential programs in the fall of 2020. Its contingency planning included weighing the possibility of delaying reopening its campus to in-person classes for undergraduates until January 2021.