Both Grand Canyon University and Maricopa County Community College District announced major schedule changes ahead of the upcoming fall semester due to concerns about the spread of COVID-19, university officials announced in a statement.
The announcements come after Arizona experienced a spike in confirmed COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in recent weeks.
Grand Canyon University
The university originally planned to start classes Aug. 24 but has since pushed back in-person classes to Sept. 28 to give Arizona time to reduce COVID-19 cases, according to the statement.
Students will start courses Sept. 8 and spend the first three weeks of school online until transitioning to in-person classes.
"Starting the semester online will help students get off to a positive start academically as they can devote their complete focus to their studies during those three weeks before getting acclimated to life on a college campus," the university wrote.
But if COVID-19 cases take a "catastrophic turn for the worse," the university will switch to online classes.
For students, the semester will include an in-person "physically distant blended model of instruction" until the end of the semester, Dec. 18, which runs one week longer than normal.
The university pointed out that a September start date will bring cooler weather and allow for more opportunities to have classes, activities and events outside.
Some students will arrive at campus earlier than the in-person start date. This includes athletes who were scheduled to start their workouts in August for the upcoming season and student leaders who arrive to campus Sept. 4 for training.
Nursing students with clinical placements already scheduled may have an earlier start date too, but they will receive more information at a later time.
Students living on campus will have their housing costs reduced proportionally to the late move-in dates.
Residential move-ins begin Sept. 21, the university said.
Meal plans will also be reduced to make up for the shortened period of time students will be on campus.
Additionally, the university will offer all eligible students attending the fall semester approximately $500 from the university's portion of the CARES Act fund.
Grand Canyon University was allotted $22.3 million from the economic stimulus bill passed by Congress in March. Of that portion, the university has to spend 50% of it on students experiencing hardship from COVID-19 and the rest to cover the university's expenses.
The university paid the 50% allotment to students during the spring 2020 semester and officials said their portion of the $11.175 million will be used to benefit students in the fall semester by granting eligible students $500.
MCCCD delays staff and faculty start-date
Maricopa County Community College District halted most staff and faculty from returning to campuses across their 10 schools until Oct. 5, according to a statement from Steven Gonzales, the college's interim chancellor.
Gonzales said a limited number of staff may return Aug. 3 to provide academic support services.
The Chancellor’s Executive Committee will review fall course schedules July 22 and develop guidelines for classes that can be taken in-person or hybrid.
The fall semester is set to begin Aug. 22, according to MCCCD's academic calendar.
The MCCCD is one of the largest two-year schools in the nation and serves more than 200,000 students. Its member schools include campuses at Chandler-Gilbert, Estrella Mountain, GateWay, Glendale, Mesa, Paradise Valley, Phoenix, Rio Salado, Scottsdale and South Mountain.
Contact the reporter at helena.wegner@arizonarepublic.com or on Twitter @WegnerHelena.
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GCU pushes back start date for in-person classes - AZCentral
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