One day after Loyola University Maryland announced that its undergraduate classes and most graduate classes would be online-only in the fall, neighboring Notre Dame of Maryland University is also transitioning to almost exclusive remote learning for the coming semester.
Marylou Yam, president of the Baltimore university, made the announcement in an Aug. 7 letter to the Notre Dame community.
“Keeping our campus community safe and healthy has always been our top priority as the university has navigated through this impactful global pandemic,” she said. “Despite NDMU’s comprehensive and solid planning for a return to campus, the university has decided to transition to all-remote learning, with limited exceptions, for fall 2020.”
The exceptions include a limited number of nursing and pharmacy lab courses that will be conducted in person following strict safety precautions, Yam said.
“In addition, we are also allowing for some students to reside on campus,” she said. “This option will only be available to first-year students; junior and senior nursing students, pharmacy students and limited emergency exceptions. All residents will be required to adhere to established guidelines and safety measures, including testing.”
Yam said the safety and health of students, faculty and staff necessitated the “tough, but important decision.”
“The last several weeks have proven to show COVID-19 is still spreading,” she said. “Locally and in some areas in our nation, we have even seen a rise in positive cases. Because of these increases, we feel remote learning is the safest path for our university community.”
Email George Matysek at gmatysek@CatholicReview.org
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