Cal State University to Conduct Most Classes Online this Fall

The public university system in California joins a number of colleges planning a virtual semester to minimize the risk of spreading COVID-19.

Written byCatherine Offord

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The California State University system is planning to offer most of its classes online in the fall semester, amid fears of a possible second wave of COVID-19 infections later this year, according to a statement made yesterday (May 12) by the university’s chancellor, Timothy White. Comprising 23 campuses serving nearly 500,000 students, CSU is the largest university system to announce such sweeping measures in advance of next year.

“First and foremost is the health, safety and welfare of our students, faculty and staff, and the evolving data surrounding the progression of COVID-19,” White says in the statement. “Virtual planning is necessary because it might not be possible for some students, faculty and staff to safely travel to campus. Said another way, this virtual planning approach preserves as many options for as many students as possible.”

The University of California (UC) said yesterday that it will probably ...

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Meet the Author

Catherine Offord
After undergraduate research with spiders at the University of Oxford and graduate research with ants at Princeton University, Catherine left arthropods and academia to become a science journalist. She has worked in various guises at The Scientist since 2016. As Senior Editor, she wrote articles for the online and print publications, and edited the magazine’s Notebook, Careers, and Bio Business sections. She reports on subjects ranging from cellular and molecular biology to research misconduct and science policy. Find more of her work at her website.
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