ATLANTA — Emory University students will be learning remotely for the first leg of the school's upcoming spring semester, according to campus officials. The announcement comes as omicron cases continue to rise across the country.
Emory University will be remote starting Jan. 4, but will return to in-person learning Jan. 31, the school announced in a news release. While undergraduate, graduate and professional courses will be remote during the period, some activities are excluded. Clinical, research, School of Medicine courses and other activities will continue on campus, officials said.
The school cited COVID-19 concerns in the wake of the omicron variant as the reason for the shift in learning. More than 97% of Emory University is vaccinated for COVID-19, the school said. Students, staff and faculty of Emory University are required to receive COVID-19 booster shots by Jan. 19.
"I understand that beginning the semester with remote learning and teaching is inconvenient, particularly for students and families who have already made travel arrangements, faculty who have planned in-person coursework, and staff who have made countless adjustments to their protocols throughout the past two years," Emory University President Gregory Fenves said in a news release. "But we must be adaptable during this surge so we can continue our important work—learning, teaching, creating, and discovering—in the face of this ever-evolving pandemic."
Updates on the school's COVID-19 protocols and spring semester plans will be made available for students, staff and faculty at the Emory Forward website.