USU student life may not return to normal for 12-18 months

By Sydney Kidd and Harley Barnes

Student life at Utah State University may not be normalized for as long as 18 months, school officials warned during a virtual town hall held Friday morning. Nonetheless, there will be no postponement of tuition increases.

“I wish we could but it’s not gonna be possible,” said the university’s president, Noelle Cockett. 

Cockett said a common misunderstanding was that the university was saving money by putting courses online, when in reality it was more expensive.

According to Cockett, there will be a limited number of students in face-to-face classes, and students should expect protection measures such as personal protective gear and the use of plexiglass to separate people. Temperature screenings could also be implemented.

According to Robert Wagner, the vice president of academic and instructional services, the university is preparing for several different scenarios come fall. Cockett said she expects groups of 20 to 25 people will be allowed, with classes of up to 100 if the situation considerably improves.

It is unclear how this will affect fall sports, but Cockett said she does expect certain events to occur during fall semester — those events might just be smaller than usual.

“The numbers and the freedom that we experienced will not occur,” Cockett said. “It is not a simple switching a flip. We won’t go from this self-isolation, small groups, delivery of class remotely, working remotely, to suddenly our campus as usual… That’s not how this will move forward.”

Wagner announced admissions will be handled on a case-by-case basis for current seniors who have not taken the ACT or SAT. 

“I’m confident that we will be able to adapt,” he said. 

Along with the adjustments the university is making for students, Cockett said there would be no non-resident tuition charged for the summer semester and leniency would be granted for students trying to obtain residency.

According to the university, for the time being, time spent outside of Utah will not impact residency status at the university. 

Until restrictions for COVID-19 are lifted, students may leave the state and it will not count against their residency.

Cockett does ask that students not travel to places with a high infection rate. 

“That could expose you,” she said. “It could expose your family. It could expose people back on our campuses and centers.”