California State University Chancellor Timothy White announced on Tuesday that all 23 campuses will be primarily online for the fall semester.
During an online CSU Board of Trustees meeting, White said that exceptions will be made for classes that can not be online, similar to the protocol that LBCC will be following.
With data indicating a second-wave of COVID-19 in the fall, White determined that it would be more effective to plan for remote learning rather than waiting until August to make preparations.
White also said that the university system is unable to provide testing for everybody and trace the source if an outbreak were to occur on one of the campuses.
This news followed Dr. Anthony Fauci’s testimony to a Senate Committee today, where he warned of serious consequences if states open prematurely.
Fauci also said that vaccines and treatments will not be available in time to safely allow students’ re-entry to schools this fall.
White said that immunity in the population needs to be in the 60-80% range to achieve “herd immunity,” and recent data pinpoints immunity levels at 2-3% currently.
In contrast, on Tuesday several private schools including Chapman University and Loyola Marymount University announced they would be hosting in-person classes for the fall.
The CSU system has been utilizing remote and online instruction since March.