Statement by USM Chancellor Jay A. Perman on Planning for a Return to Campus This Fall
Baltimore, Md. (May 8, 2020) -- The University System of Maryland (USM) is planning to resume at least some in-person instruction this fall. Our primary consideration as we undertake this planning is the health and safety of the USM’s students, faculty, and staff, as well as our university neighbors.The Return to Campus Advisory Group, convened last month, is examining how in-person instruction might be accomplished in the fall, what conditions must exist—within the state and on and around each campus—for students to return, and how those conditions will affect our institutions’ academic and administrative operations. The advisory group, made up of university-based leaders across the USM, is assessing the feasibility and implications of various return-to-campus scenarios, outlining what’s needed to support each, and recommending an optimal course of action.
The group will be transparent in its decision-making, and will ensure that every institution has a plan to test for COVID-19, to maintain social distancing, and to enhance the cleaning of its buildings. We will continue to assess the effectiveness of our safety measures, and will be ready to deploy contingency plans should assumptions or conditions change.
We will comply with all state and federal laws and executive orders, and with public health guidelines. We will aim for solidarity among our institutions balanced by their very real need for flexibility, because how our universities and regional centers meet the conditions we establish will vary campus-to-campus.
Interest in our return-to-campus plans is especially high among prospective, incoming, and returning students. So that these students and their families may make informed decisions about fall enrollment, we will share our plans for the fall by the end of this month.
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Contact: Mike Lurie
Phone: 301.445.2719
Email: mlurie@usmd.edu