Central Florida colleges begin submitting reopening plans for fall semester

FILL THIS OUT — The spring semester is over, but the fall semester at the University of Central Florida and across the colleges across the region is around the corner.

Last week, UCF released its plan for students to return to campus, which includes requiring all faculty and students to wear a face mask. Officials also shared diagrams of what social distancing in lecture halls and classrooms would look like.

“It will be much different of a feeling than the 300 people. But hey, maybe you get a row to yourself,” UCF student Caleb Hage said.

UCF falls under the Board of Governors, which oversees the state public university system. On Thursday, the board approved a broad blueprint for how to reopen several public universities in the fall.

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Here’s a breakdown of where Central Florida colleges stand:

Seminole State College: Finalizing its plan, and will present an update to its board of trustees on June 15.

Rollins College: The first day of in-person classes will be Sept. 14. It is also working on a phased-return approach.

Stetson University: They are analyzing what it looks like to have in-person classes in a safe way, and how to build in the flexibility necessary for quarantined students of faculty.

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Florida Tech: Will return to “normal operations” in August, but will continue with extra sanitation steps and modified social distancing.

Bethune Cookman: Hopes to resume as much in-person education as possible.

Hage said he hopes to go back to in-person education, but to do it safely.

“You complain about being in school while you’re in school," he said. "And then when you leave it’s like, oh my god, I want to go back.”

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