Tufts Opening Campus This Fall With Multi-Format Classes

MEDFORD, MA — Tufts University recently laid out a multi-format approach to resuming classes this fall as colleges across the country grapple with adapting to the ongoing pandemic. In a letter June 23, Tufts President Tony Monaco said the residential campus will be open this fall and classes will be held in person, online or over a hybrid format.

Research work at the school has already restarted under a phased plan, the clinics at the School of Dental Medicine and Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine have expanded their client roster and some students at the Boston Health Sciences and Grafton campuses have returned to continue their studies.

The fall undergraduate and graduate programs in the Schools of Arts and Sciences and Engineering will being Sept. 8 as scheduled. These courses will be available in in-person, virtual and hybrid formats. Courses at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts will be held virtually with in-person access to facilities and studios.

The Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, the School of Dental Medicine, The Fletcher School, the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, the School of Medicine and University College have each developed distinct plans for their programs.

Some schools and programs, due to the nature of their instruction or the global composition of their student body, have decided to move all classes online or postpone the beginning of formal instruction until January, Monaco said. Others will be adopting a hybrid approach in which some classes are in-person, some are both in-person and online, and others are conducted virtually.

The university's plan aligns with most others in and around Boston. On Monday, Harvard University took one of the more aggressive stances among area schools, announcing that it would only welcome back about 40 percent of undergraduates to campus and hold all classes online.