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Harvard Holding All Courses Online For 2020-21 School Year

The university said it will welcome 40 percent of students back to campus, but they won't be attending in-person class.

| Updated
Harvard University will be teaching courses online this year (Jenna Fisher/Patch)

CAMBRIDGE, MA — Harvard will welcome back only 40 percent of undergraduates to campus this school year, and all learning will be online-only.

"Students will learn remotely, whether or not they live on campus," Harvard said Monday morning in detailing its plan to mitigate the spread of coronavirus.

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Freshmen will be allowed back in September. In the spring, freshmen will return home and seniors will come to campus. All students will be in single-room dorms.

Harvard's plan is among the most aggressive for area universities. Most others in and around Boston plan on a hybrid of online and in-person learning.

Related: How Colleges, Universities Plan To Reopen In MA

"The recent upturn in COVID-19 cases in certain states illustrates the difficulty of making predictions, even well-informed ones, about the evolution of this virus," Harvard President Lawrence Bacow said.

Bacow and his wife tested positive for the virus in March.

A decision on Ivy League sports is expected Wednesday. The Athletic reported all fall sports — including football — could be moved to spring 2021.

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