Dear Miami Employees,

We are working to welcome our students this fall with as robust an on-campus educational experience as is possible during this pandemic. We are consulting with Butler County public health officials and following the guidance and directives of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Ohio Department of Health. When we began planning last spring, we had hoped that the COVID-19 pandemic would be in significant decline before classes were scheduled to begin.

Instead, cases are rising in many states, and with over 40% of our Oxford students coming from outside Ohio, we’ve been monitoring the situation closely, listening to the concerns and hopes of our students, faculty, and staff, and gaining information from experts directly engaged in this work. We have heard from students and their families, faculty, and staff who are excited to return to campus and from those who have concerns about returning. This means offering our students several options for the fall semester.

As a University, we must continue to be adaptable, with the health and safety of our community as our first priority. Following recommended best practices for opening universities, we will sequence the return to campus in multiple phases. This will give us the opportunity to review lessons learned at each interval and adapt accordingly. In the end, we hope, this will provide the best opportunity for a successful return to our campuses later this fall.  

Oxford and Regional Campus classes will begin as scheduled on August 17, 2020, but we will begin with all undergraduate classes held online/remotely until September 21.

We expect students planning to live off-campus in Oxford will begin returning in advance of the August 17 start of classes. We encourage them to consider residing at home if circumstances permit or if they have significant health or family concerns.

General residence hall move-in will begin the week of September 14.

Graduate students will begin on-campus classes on August 17, and research activities will continue as planned.

Students who elect to return this fall will be required to sign a health and safety pledge.

Students will also have the option to construct a fully remote semester, and newly admitted and transfer students to the Oxford campus may elect to postpone their enrollment for a semester or for a year.

We know that some of our students will be disappointed and some will be relieved. The decision to offer these options for the Fall 2020 semester was made with the wellbeing of our students, faculty, staff, and our local community as our foremost responsibility. As we continue to evaluate this evolving situation, Miami University remains committed to providing our students with a full and enriching fall semester despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

You will be learning more from leadership within your division.  We are deeply grateful for your understanding and patience as we keep working to provide our students with the best educational experience possible.

Love and Honor,
Greg Crawford