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USF pushes spring break back, many other universities cancel

USF joins a growing list of universities altering their spring break plans due to COVID-19.
 
Spring break has been delayed by about a month at USF. After the break, classes and exams will be delivered remotely.
Spring break has been delayed by about a month at USF. After the break, classes and exams will be delivered remotely. [ MARTHA ASENCIO RHINE | Times ]
Published Oct. 5, 2020

The University of South Florida announced it will delay its spring break by a month and deliver the remainder of the spring semester virtually.

The university joins a growing list of Florida universities that have announced changes to their spring break due to COVID-19 concerns.

USF’s spring break, originally scheduled for March 15-21, will be April 12-18. The start and end dates for the semester remain the same. The university is still in the planning phase on how courses will be offered in the spring, USF spokesman Adam Freeman said. The university remains in the second phase of its re-opening plan, which allows for 50 percent of employees to return to campus.

“The University of South Florida continues to prioritize the health and well-being of our university community as we develop plans for the spring semester,” USF President Steve Currall said in a statement. “We remain committed to making evidence-based decisions that support academic continuity and a safe environment for student and faculty success.”

USF has reported 328 positive cases since the start of its fall semester on Aug. 24.

Last week, Florida State University, Florida A&M University and Florida International University announced spring break was canceled and the semester would end a week earlier. The University of Florida and the University of Miami canceled their spring breaks and will be starting their semesters a week later.

FSU has reported 1,464 positive cases and UF has reported 1,213 positive cases since reopening. The University of Miami has reported 474 positive cases since it began testing in mid-August and FIU has reported 47 on-campus cases which are “largely self-reported.” FAMU has reported 91 positive cases via its dashboard since testing began Aug. 1.

The private University of Tampa, which has about a quarter of the student population of USF and has reported 311 positive cases since reopening mostly in-person, announced instead of a spring break, it would have “non-instructional reading days” once a month from February until May and keep the start date of the spring semester the same. Final exams will end one day earlier.

“We believe these days will provide a periodic break from classes, while negating the threat of virus transmission during a typical spring break scenario,” UT spokesman Eric Cardenas said in an email.