Brown University will invite all undergraduate classes to campus for spring semester

Brown University will invite students from each undergraduate class to live on campus for the spring 2021 semester.

In a campus-wide email from University president Christina Paxson, Brown announced plans to offer on-campus housing in the spring of 2021 for each undergraduate class. Space, however, will limit the number of students that on-campus housing can accommodate, the Brown Daily Herald reported. Brown will also offer a remote learning option for students, and faculty will have the option to continue to work remotely as well.

All first-year students will have the option to live on campus in January. Residential Peer Leaders who are currently working remotely, students returning from medical leave, international students for whom studying remotely causes hardship because of travel restrictions, and students who live in unsafe environments will also be permitted to live on campus, the Daily Herald reported.

Juniors and seniors have the option to live off-campus in Providence, but first-years and sophomores will not be permitted to live off-campus in the area. If more students request to live on campus than space allows, the University will use a lottery system. Juniors who are currently studying remotely will receive preference, followed by sophomores who are currently studying remotely. Seniors, juniors, and sophomores, respectively, who are currently taking a personal leave, will then receive preference, the Daily Herald reported.

Although the University recorded 8 positive asymptomatic COVID-19 test results from Oct. 21-Oct. 23, the most recorded in any three-day period so far, the positivity rate within that timeframe remained at 0.15%, the Daily Herald reported.

Brown, which was the first Ivy League school to announce spring semester plans, has a plan for return to on-campus housing that mirrors Penn’s Friday announcement. On-campus housing will open for Penn students in the spring, with priority for first-years, sophomores, and seniors. All students will have a single room, and students can expect a slight increase in in-person teaching, the announcement read.

Brown announced over the summer that the 2020-2021 academic year would be conducted on a trimester model instead of the usual two-semester system to limit the number of students on campus at a given time. Students had the option to study completely remotely, and first-years were invited to campus for the spring and summer semesters, while sophomores, juniors, and seniors were permitted to return for the fall and spring. 

Students were invited back to campus in a phased approach, and classes with sections of 19 students or less were permitted to meet in-person starting October 5.