The University of Pennsylvania wasn’t the only Ivy League school to announce a change of plans for the fall term this past Tuesday, shifting from a hybrid model of in-person and online instruction to exclusively online learning. Brown University has also signaled a change of course. Instruction will be exclusively virtual at Brown until at least October 5, 2020. The only students who will be invited to campus before October 5th are international students who can’t return home, students working in labs, and students who can’t secure safe environments to study from home.

As reports Allie Reed, Olivia George, and Jack Walker for The Brown Daily Herald in a piece entitled “Brown undergraduate classes will be fully online until at least Oct. 5,” “The University is implementing a ‘phased approach’ to in-person undergraduate instruction and student returns to campus in light of the shifting public health landscape, according to the Healthy Brown website. As part of this approach, all undergraduate courses will be taught remotely until the week of Oct. 5, meaning in-person teaching will resume at least two weeks later than initially planned — or not at all…Most undergraduates will likely be invited back to campus in phase two. The University will make a decision by Sept. 11 about proceeding with phase two or shifting to a fully remote semester. Students invited to campus for phase two of reopening may choose to continue to study remotely, and faculty members may choose to teach their courses remotely if they have health concerns even if in-person classes begin in phase two.”

What do our readers think about these schools announcing plans to allow students back on campus only to reverse course on these plans? In light of the rising COVID-19 case numbers in America, was it to be expected that these institutions would have to reverse course? And what do our readers think about Brown reversing course after its president, Christina Paxson, was so vocal back in early May with respect to the need to re-open in the fall? Let us know your thoughts by posting a Comment below. We look forward to hearing from you.