UNC-CH may delay start of spring semester because of COVID-19

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (WTVD) -- UNC Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz discussed plans for returning to on-campus learning during a UNC Board of Trustees virtual meeting on Thursday.

Guskiewicz said the university has mapped out five different options for the start of the spring 2021 semester.

The chancellor expects the start date to be delayed from Jan. 6 to Jan. 13 or Jan. 19.

He said an announcement will be made in the next two weeks.

"Our hope is that we will bring students back to live and learn on campus in the spring semester," Guskiewicz said. "We would scale this to provide an on-campus experience for as many students as we can safely accommodate."

UNC shifted to all-remote learning on August 19 after COVID-19 clusters appeared on campus.

In a letter to the campus community last week, Guskiewicz said the university is looking at the experience of other schools to help plan.

"Many institutions are finding similar outcomes to ours, while others are taking different routes and seeing varying results. We are studying those and will identify the best path to take for Carolina," Guskiewicz wrote.