Marquette will reassess and make a decision regarding the fall 2020 semester in the first week of August, according to a university news release.
The news release says that the university is continuing to work with Milwaukee Health Department and the City of Milwaukee regarding plans to keep moving forward with current efforts.
A recent Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article says that universities and schools are unable to open until phase five of the safety plan. Milwaukee is currently in phase four. The article states that educational institutions were planning to reopen with in-person instruction in the fall following the Moving Milwaukee Forward Plan.
The current June 25 plan states that institutions of higher education are unable to open until phase five, despite an earlier June 4 document saying that reopening could be considered during phase four.
“What is certain is that the city’s current health order, which has been in place since June 25, did not change last week, nor does it preclude Marquette from continuing to plan for the best-case scenario of in-person instruction this fall,” the news release says.
According to the news release, it would be too difficult to plan in a shorter time frame if city guidelines change. It also says that the majority of Marquette students have made it clear that they want to return to in-person instruction.
“The events of this past spring clearly demonstrated how much circumstances can change in the matter of only a few weeks,” the release states. “The planning we are doing now permits us to adapt however the circumstances do change.”
Milwaukee recently issued a mandatory mask ordinance in public spaces both indoors and outdoors. The news release says that health experts are hopeful this ordinance will help cases of COVID-19 decline.
This story was written by Annie Mattea. She can be reached at [email protected].
