Two University of Illinois campuses to start semester remotely

Two of the University of Illinois’s three campuses will begin the semester in January with remote learning.

The university system’s Chicago campus as well as the Urbana-Champaign campus announced they would start the upcoming term virtually. 

“With the omicron variant fueling a rapid rise in COVID-19 cases across Illinois and the nation, and a likely surge in the coming weeks based on the speed of transmissibility, holiday travel and gatherings, we decided to start the spring semester with two weeks of online instruction,” the Chicago campus said on Monday in a letter to staff and students.

“We anticipate the two-week period of online instruction will allow students to get booster doses, settle in and navigate any health issues without the concern of missing the beginning of the semester,” the letter added, noting that 96 percent of the campus was vaccinated and classes would resume in person on Jan. 24.

The Urbana-Champaign campus also announced that it would be remote Jan. 18-21, but in-person classes would also resume on Jan. 24. The campus noted that it was still mulling a possible COVID-19 booster requirement for the spring semester.

The Springfield campus will require all students and staff members to be vaccinated but has not announced remote learning for the upcoming term. 

All three campuses will require that students and staffers test negative for COVID-19 prior to returning to school in January.

The campus’ decision comes as Illinois recently reported its highest COVID-19 cases in over a year as the state also grapples with the lowest rates of available hospital beds since summer 2020.