Fall Planning Report Provides Detailed Operational Guide for Upcoming Semester

Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy shared the report of the Fall Planning Group with the UMass Amherst community on April 22, noting that it offers a detailed operational guide and recommendations for re-establishing a robust living-learning environment that ensures the health and well-being of the campus community.  

The complete report and related resources, including a comprehensive sets of FAQs, can be found at www.umass.edu/fall.

Here are key aspects of the fall plan:

• UMass intends to offer a full-college experience in the fall, featuring face-to-face instruction, full residence halls, a complement of student events and activities, and active research facilities.
• The university will require all undergraduate and graduate students who wish to live or learn or conduct research on campus, or access campus resources, to be fully vaccinated prior to the beginning of the fall semester. This is being required on the basis of expected additional state, federal and legal guidance and vaccine availability, and subject to religious and disability accommodations pursuant to state and federal law. 
• Given the goal to have fall 2021 be as close to pre-pandemic times as possible, there is an operational imperative that faculty and staff who have been performing their duties remotely transition back to on-campus work. Accordingly, all faculty and staff are strongly encouraged and recommended to get vaccinated prior to the beginning of the fall semester. While recognizing the potential value of working remotely for some future operations, for this fall all employees will be considered on-site, and only hybrid or remote if approved by a unit’s vice chancellor. 
• With the help of federal funds, UMass will relax the current hiring freeze and begin filling critical faculty and staff vacancies to provide the excellent instruction and campus-life experience that students expect.
• Federal institutional aid will bolster UMass finances for FY22, but uncertainty remains about how quickly the university will return to the baseline revenues experienced in previous years. 
• Federal student aid will enable UMass to provide direct financial relief to students, offsetting some of the financial impacts of the pandemic. The university plans to distribute the bulk of the currently available aid in the coming weeks, and as required by law students with exceptional need will be prioritized.