Green leaves will soon return to the Charles River Campus, but in-person summer programs are canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. Photo by Maddie Malhotra (COM’19)

University News

BU Cancels In-Person Summer Programs amid COVID-19 Pandemic

Remote classes will be offered; study abroad also canceled

With the COVID-19 pandemic near its peak and recovery likely months away, Boston University has decided to cancel all in-person summer activities on the Charles River Campus, and with exceptions, at the Medical Campus, and offer classes remotely for 2020 Summer Sessions 1 and 2. 

The Doctor of Medicine, Physician Assistant, and the Doctor of Dental Medicine programs at the Medical Campus are not covered by the decision. The timing for those programs will be communicated in the future.

“Although this decision will be disappointing to many, we believe it is necessary to achieve our ultimate goal: to return our students, staff, and faculty in the fall to our residential campus community and resume the quality in-person programs that are our hallmark as a leading private research university,” Robert A. Brown, BU president, and Jean Morrison, provost and chief academic officer, wrote in a letter to the University community Tuesday morning.

“By making these decisions now, we give our faculty time to optimize the remote delivery of our courses during the summer,” they wrote. “We also give our staff time to reopen our campus in the fall and to establish the protocols that will ensure the safety of our community.” 

Other summer programs will be canceled as noted below. Deposits will be refunded for all canceled programs. 

Both summer terms, Session 1 (May 20–July 1, 2020) and Session 2 (July 6–August 14, 2020), will occur only through remote engagement. No in-person courses or programs will be offered during this time period. This policy applies to all BU summer term programs, except the medical programs noted above.

Summer term leadership will work with faculty to determine which scheduled summer courses can be administered remotely. Departments with other programs planned for this time period should decide whether or not the programs can be conducted remotely and communicate with participants accordingly. BU employees will be able to use tuition remission towards Summer Session courses that have now moved to remote learning.

• The College of General Studies Summer Session 1 and 2 Boston-London and Boston–New England programs will not take place in person. We are exploring ways to make up for these missed experiences. Natalie McKnight, dean of the College of General Studies, will be in touch with the CGS community to share additional details.

• All international BU Study Abroad programs for Summer 2020 will be canceled, as will all US-based Study Abroad summer programs (Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.). Contact Study Abroad directly at abroad@bu.edu with any questions.

• All other K-12 summer 2020 programs on our Boston campuses and elsewhere are also canceled, including the Boston University Tanglewood Institute (BUTI). Check with the program leadership for further details.

• Research and clinical activities on both campuses will restart on a schedule dictated by state and local officials and at a pace that is attentive to the health of our researchers. Further information will come from the Office of Vice President and Associate Provost for Research Gloria Waters.

“All of us hope to return to in-person classes and on-campus activity as soon as possible, but we must continue to prioritize the health and safety of our community,” Brown and Morrison wrote.