Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the University of Utah is offering five types of class instruction for the Fall 2020 Semester. It has also modified its academic schedule based on the input from health and infectious disease experts.
Course types
In-person
A traditional, campus-based, fully in-person class with a scheduled room and meeting time.
Online
A class facilitated online, primarily through Canvas, with greater than 80 percent of the required learning activities taking place digitally when a student chooses. An online class does not have required locations or meeting times; although, regular, substantive instructor-student interactions are an expected part of the teaching and learning process.
Hybrid
A class that blends both same-time (synchronous) in-person instruction and flex-time (asynchronous) online instruction.
IVC (Interactive Video Class)
A fully digital class that uses same-time delivery using web video technology. The class has a scheduled meeting time. Canvas serves as the class location, with learning materials and links to join the class video meetings.
IVC-Hybrid
This class is a mixture of in-person and same-time online interactive video.
New semester schedule
There will also be a change in the academic schedule this fall. The semester will end one week earlier than planned—the last day of finals is Dec. 11, 2020—so there will be no fall break. However, there will be two weeks in the middle of the semester—Sept. 28-Oct. 9, 2020—when classes will not be held on campus and all courses will be taught remotely. This modification is based on the recommendations of epidemiologists from U of U Health, who say the in-person break will serve as a “circuit-breaker” to help reduce any spread of COVID-19. Additionally, there will be one week of remote-only classes after the Thanksgiving break, followed by a week of final exams, which will all be taken remotely online.
For more resources and information related to the University of Utah’s response to COVID-19, please visit coronavirus.utah.edu.
