Jenna Ingalls |Staff writerAugusta University’s plans for reopening its campuses are to be submitted to University System of Georgia for approval by May 25, said Gretchen Caughman, AU's provost, in the most recent AU town hall meeting held online.Plans for reopening must go through the University System of Georgia for approval before AU can take any action. Several task forces have been working on the restart for weeks.In short, the plan is to get students back on campus in the fall, said Dr. Brooks Keel, the AU president.“We have to be very, very flexible realizing that this is a dynamic and fluid situation,” said Keel. “We are implementing a project that does just that.”The project leads are Gretchen Caughman and Russell Keen, the executive vice president for external relations and chief of staff to President Keel. More than 100 faculty and staff representatives are working on the restart plan.“The project will define and document a comprehensive plan to reopen campuses in the fall,” said Caughman.The details of the project were not discussed, only the need for flexibility, safety and the overarching plan to be opened in the fall.Other topics discussed in the town hall meeting were the plans for the fiscal year. The state has asked all universities to trim their budgets by 14 percent. Furloughs have been announced for university employees by the board of regents. Furloughs are unpaid days off.Employees with the largest salaries will be required to take 16 furlough days, the equivalent of a 6.2-percent pay cut, according to Inside Higher Ed. University leadership would be looking at a pay trim of as much as 10 percent, according to the Red & Black, the student newspaper at the University of Georgia.
“These are questions we just don’t have answers to yet,” said Keel in reference to the budget and its effect on AU.The general assembly will likely meet in June and then the budget will be passed, according to Dr. Keel.Caughman closed the meeting with the new schedule. Classes will now begin Aug. 10, fall break now coincides with the Masters Tournament on Nov. 9 though 13, and the Thanksgiving holiday is now Nov. 26 and 27. Dates for move-in day and Freshman Convocation, along with other events, have not been set.“Even though we are at a distance, we are still together,” said Caughman.Around the country, state systems are looking at several scenarios for the fall. Clemson and the University of South Carolina have announced they will reopen in the fall with face-to-face instruction. USC plans to not have a fall break. Then it will teach remotely after Thanksgiving. The California State University recently announced it would instruct only virtually during the fall semester. In England, Cambridge University announced it would teach online throughout the coming academic year.
Contact Jenna Ingalls at JEINGALLS@augusta.edu.