UArizona Prepares To Welcome Students Back For Spring Semester

TUCSON, AZ — The University of Arizona is preparing for its Jan. 13 start date with only a limited number of students expected on campus.

The university said that some 'essential' classes will meet in-person, including research labs and performing arts courses, but most will be virtual as they were at the beginning of the fall semester. That amounts to a little over 3,900 students on campus out of the university's 46,000 enrolled.

In his weekly virtual briefing, President Robert C. Robbins asked students and staff members to continue to take part in mitigation efforts as coronavirus cases continue to surge in Arizona.

"Getting through this semester, even with the vaccine rolling out, we'll have to follow the same playbook we did in the fall semester for the spring semester," Robbins said. "And then hopefully for next fall semester, we'll be back to more like normal."

The university is ramping up its coronavirus testing program as it prepares to welcome students back to the community. The program will require weekly testing for students living in dorms for remote classes or attending in-person classes. Robbins said that students arriving from outside Tucson will be asked to self-quarantine for seven days — even if they have tested negative for the coronavirus. Students who test positive will move into dorms set aside for isolation.

If testing rates on campus fall below what public health advisers recommend, compliance may be managed through access to the campus-based WiFi network, Robbins said.

Arizona currently has the highest rate of coronavirus spread in the U.S. and in the world.

The Associated Press contributed to this reporting.