Oregon State University said Tuesday that the vast majority of its classes this fall will only be offered remotely.
In a letter to the university community, OSU’s new president, F. King Alexander, said it was a difficult decision. But he said with the prevalence of COVID-19 still not trending in a positive direction, it became clear that a traditional learning model would not be the best choice.
Fewer than ten percent of classes on the Corvallis campus will be offered in-person, and those will primarily be ones that require lab or field work. The school said the percentage of in-person classes will be higher at its Cascades campus in Bend.
Residential halls and dining services will be available, but the school says most students will be able to take part in classes from home, rather than living on campus.
The announcement came on the same day that the Pac-12 Conference postponed all fall sports through at least the end of the calendar year. It also came on the same day that Benton County, home to OSU's Corvallis campus, announced its highest single-day total of new confirmed COVID-19 cases so far, although the county has one of the lowest case counts per capita in the state.
A spokesperson for Benton County said the majority of new cases there are in people under the age of 40.
