University of Oregon announces primarily in-person fall term

The University of Oregon has announced its official plans for the fall, with administrators saying the college will resume primarily in-person classes — as prompted by COVID-19 vaccine eligibility for higher education employees to begin in the late spring.

“I am under no illusion that life on campus will be what it was before COVID-19. The virus is not going away. But now, we can be ready,” UO President Michael Schill wrote in a message to the campus community Monday.

Schill noted that ongoing coronavirus response at the university — including collaboration with local health authorities, enhancing campus cleaning and other public health guidelines like mask-wearing and physical-distancing — will continue in the fall.

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown and the Oregon Health Authority released a complete vaccine sequencing list Friday, which regards people working at colleges and universities as frontline workers eligible for the vaccine no later than May 1.

Students at UO will be able to receive the vaccine no later than July 1, when all Oregonians ages 16 and older become eligible — and some may be eligible before that date depending on their age, employment or specific underlying health conditions.

University of Oregon joins other Oregon public universities that have already made the official call to return to primarily in-person learning in the upcoming academic year.

As UO plans for fall, it is also in the process of determining potential tuition and fee increases for the incoming class.

UO President Schill Tuesday recommended to the university’s Board of Trustees proposed tuition increases of 4.5% for incoming in-state undergraduate students and 3% for incoming out-of-state students.

Both those tuition increases will only apply to newly enrolled undergraduate students due to UO’s Oregon Guarantee program, which locks in administratively-controlled mandatory fees and tuition for each new class of undergraduate students for a period of five years.

Schill is also recommending tuition rates for graduate students that vary from no increase to a 5% increase, depending on the specific program.

The Board is set to consider those recommendations at its meetings next week.