UPDATED: 11:11 a.m.
President Richard Englert sent out a letter Thursday morning saying he expects 95% of classes to remain online through at least the end of the semester.
The university previously announced that classes would be held online for two weeks after an outbreak was first discovered among students. Nearly all of the students who got COVID-19 at Temple have had minor symptoms or no symptoms at all.
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For students who want to return home because no classes will be offered on campus, Englert says refunds will be issued for room and board if students notify the university by Sept. 13. For those who remain, academic and other support services will be made available.
Freshman Juliet Trout says she plans to stay for now.“I mean this is not how it was supposed to be — especially freshman year, when you’re supposed to meet your friends and everything,” she said.
Temple spokesman Ray Betzer says some classes must be held in person.
"Think about occupational therapy, physical therapy — those kinds of courses," he said. "We ran those courses in the summer quite successfully, and we know we can do it again this fall."
Betzer says the spike isn’t a result of huge parties, and students have been pretty responsible.“This is happening in much smaller social gatherings: a half-dozen people sitting around a box of pizza, having some beer and watching a ball game,” he said.The university sought advice from both city and school medical experts before making the decision to go mostly virtual for the remainder of 2020. More guidance from Englert is expected in the coming days