UB Updates Plans for Fall Semester
May 29, 2020
Contact: Office of Government and Public Affairs
Phone: 410.837.5739
In a message to all University of Baltimore students, faculty and staff, UB President Kurt L. Schmoke has provided this update on the University's plans for the upcoming academic year:
To the UB Community:
University System of Maryland Chancellor Jay A. Perman has announced an overall plan for the USM institutions, including the University of Baltimore, to host classes in a variety of ways this fall. As you will note from his statement, the institutions are being given a good deal of latitude about how to achieve this goal, safely and effectively, and without any real certainties regarding the impact of the pandemic in the months ahead. As we have seen, the more we learn about COVID-19, the better we can respond from a public health perspective.
Earlier, the USM received our operations plan for the upcoming academic year. As you will recall, UB will run predominantly online for the fall semester, with some classes conducted in a hybrid fashion in order to ensure a quality experience for our students. Issues relating to compliance with ABA standards in the School of Law and their impact on the UB plan remain under discussion.
As our faculty and staff prepare for the start of classes, they will deliver solutions that are flexible yet robust, academically grounded yet innovative in approach. Much of what you'll see at UB this fall will be based on the enormous amount of learning that we, as a community, undertook these past months regarding the online environment. And, it should be said, UB already offered many of its classes and degree programs online—the pandemic simply broadened our reach and strengthened our resolve.
Thanks to your efforts, UB's overall expertise in online learning is something of which we can all be proud. That base of knowledge continues to grow. The USM has recognized our expertise, and supports my decision to stay primarily online, with necessary exceptions. Our operational arrangements, as well as plans we must make for spring 2021, are now being worked on by the Campus Planning Group, which will present me with recommendations soon. In turn, I will share with you more details of our plan in the coming weeks.
In these times, the provision of a quality education is more important than ever. It is education that will help us to combat what I think of as "twin pandemics": the pandemic of the coronavirus, and the pandemic of racism. Today I am reminded of the important words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: "Intelligence plus character—that is the goal of true education."
There will be bumps in this process. A glitch in a video, an overburdened laptop—I know it can be frustrating sometimes. But in class after class, in every school at UB, we are finding success. While the world awaits an end to this public health crisis, we are not waiting—to teach, to learn, and to reach our goal of achieving a great University of Baltimore education.
Stay safe and healthy this summer.
Sincerely,
Kurt L. Schmoke
President