AUSTIN (Talk1370.com) -- The University of Texas and Huston-Tillotson University are joining the ranks of other Central Texas colleges in starting off the spring semester virtually, due to the rise of COVID-19.
UT President Jay Hartzell made the announcement Tuesday night in a letter to the campus community. Faculty members are asked to shift to two weeks of online learning, with the start of the semester on Jan. 18 through Jan. 30.
Campus officials are also urging students to get tested for COVID-19 within three days of their return to campus.
“During the winter break, we continued to monitor local and statewide conditions related to the omicron variant. COVID-19 cases have rapidly increased during the past few weeks. Although severe illness and resulting hospitalizations appear less prevalent with this variant, we expect conditions in our community to be challenging during the next month,” said Hartzell. “One of our key goals is to allow for a more gradual return to typical campus density, while starting classes and continuing our research to the extent possible.”
Officials at Huston-Tillotson University, which is set to begin its spring semester on Monday, will also shift classes to an online model, through Jan. 24. Campus housing will open on Friday as scheduled, officials said.
The moves come roughly 24 hours after Texas State University said it would move the first two weeks of spring semester classes online.
