The University of California Berkeley will opt for remote learning to start the fall semester, which will likely affect how the university can conduct athletics, including its national powerhouse swimming and diving teams.
The decision, announced Tuesday, includes preparation of “hybrid and/or flexible modes of instruction” if and when the COVID-19 pandemic relents. The university stresses the need to be agile in the face of such a public health challenge and will allow fully remote learning as an option for all students with no requirement to attend in-person classes if they are allowed later in the semester. The university has already planned to go remote-only for instruction from Thanksgiving through the end of the semester, even if on-campus learning resumes at some point.
From a university statement:
Although we have repeatedly noted that all fall plans are subject to public health conditions, we understand that this news will be disappointing. Many of you have worked diligently to develop plans to provide in-person instructional activities for almost one thousand classes across the campus. Many faculty and students continue to look forward to resumption of some element of in-person instruction. We will continue to work hard on our plans, and to learn from the setbacks as well as the advances.
California Berkeley will allow students back on a two-tier system. Tier 1 prioritizes education that is, “significantly preferable to offer in-person or partially in-person,” such as lab work, art studios, fieldwork, etc. Tier 2 is instruction that, “if offered in-person, would substantially contribute to cohort-building for entering students, to academic engagement for students who are underrepresented on campus, and/or part of a capstone experience.” It’s in that vein that many colleges across the country are prioritizing freshmen, transfers and international students, for instance, for limited on-campus spots.
Sports isn’t mentioned in the release. The Pac-12 has already committed fall sports to a conference-only schedule to reduce travel. Being on campus has been, in many instances, a prerequisite for whether athletics will happen. The swim season begins for both squads in the middle of the fall term.
Sounds like the price of tuition just dropped
What does that mean for swimming ? Training at home ?
Super old news.