BREAKING: President Eisgruber Announces Updates to Fall Semester In Light of COVID-19

President Eisgruber announced a series of key updates to Princeton's current academic and administrative plans for the Fall 2020 undergraduate semester in a campus wide email today at 12:29pm."The pandemic will not pass quickly.  We cannot simply hunker down, pick up the pieces, and return to normalcy," Eisgruber wrote. "Our goal will be to restore Princeton’s on-campus, in-person research and teaching enterprise as soon and as fully as is consistent with sound public health principles."Eisgruber's email included a description of the magnitude of the pandemic, Princeton's commitment to adherence of health protocols, and information about Princeton's endowment and spending plans. A key financial takeaway for students: "we have... raised stipends for the upcoming year to support our graduate students, and we will continue to meet the full financial need of every undergraduate student at the University."As for the undergraduate Fall semester, the official university decision about a concrete plan will be released in "early July," the email stated.However, one thing is clear: the semester will resume a normal academic timeline, in-person instruction or not. Princeton will not be delaying its start time, nor shifting the Fall semester to begin in January 2021."Waiting would obviously yield more information, and we could hope that with time would come new advances in testing or treatment for the disease," said Eisgruber. "That is only a hope, however, not a guarantee.  The only guarantee is that we would lose teaching time through inactivity.  We have therefore decided that we will proceed with the fall semester calendar as currently scheduled, whether we can teach residentially or not."The decision, then, has essentially boiled down to two options: an on-time, on-campus semester, or an on-time virtual one.It seems, though, that due to the destruction of the COVID-19 pandemic, a virtual semester is the current option, in the eyes of the university. At least, the current plan."We are accordingly asking faculty members to begin planning now under the assumption that their classes will be online in the fall," Eisgruber wrote." In the event that we are able to resume residential instruction, we will be able to pivot quickly back to the instructional techniques more familiar to all of us—though we should anticipate that even if we can return to on-campus instruction in the fall, University life will be subject to significant restrictions for as long as the pandemic continues."Timelines differ slightly for graduate students, the email noted. The message stated that "Dean for Research Pablo Debenedetti and University Librarian Anne Jarvis are chairing committees to ensure that we can safely and responsibly reopen Princeton’s laboratories, libraries, and other facilities when state law permits. We are optimistic that we can do so, and we are also optimistic about resuming on‑campus graduate advising and instruction this summer and in the fall."This announcement comes just hours after a Princeton USG update to the student body, encouraging students to respond to a "COVID-19 Student Survey" whose results would be "share[d]... with the administration for consideration to inform them regarding student opinions and preferences as policies are created moving forward during this unprecedented time." The USG survey options include the possibility of a "delayed on-campus semester with potentially fewer social distancing protocols."The health guidance updates from national and world officials change daily, or hourly. Eisgruber's email reinforces Princeton's commitment to "the best possible undergraduate education consistent with the health and well-being of our community.""I appreciate that this uncertainty can itself add to the distress of this pandemic, but I am convinced that it is the most responsible way for Princeton to proceed," Eisgruber wrote. "I am confident that this extraordinary University, this fiercely devoted band of Tigers, is up to the challenge, and that we will eventually come through this unprecedented crisis stronger than ever."The University Press Club will continue to report on COVID-19 Fall semester updates as they arise.