Drexel University undergraduate students to stay home this fall

This article originally appeared on NBC10.

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Drexel University undergraduate students won’t return to campus this fall and will continue virtual learning amid the coronavirus pandemic. The school will also freeze their tuition.

School president John Fry made the announcement in a letter to the Drexel community on Wednesday.

“After much consultation and a frank assessment of the situation at large universities that have brought undergraduate students back to campus, we have made the decision that undergraduate courses will continue remotely for the fall quarter, and Drexel University housing will remain closed to undergraduates during the fall term,” Fry wrote.

Drexel University initially planned a hybrid learning approach for the fall quarter. Fry said they made the decision to only have remote classes after noticing “incredibly troubling trends” and reports of outbreaks at reopened schools across the country.

“We have a responsibility to all members of our campus community and to our neighbors — those living in Powelton Village and Mantua,” Fry wrote. “What we see happening across the nation on university campuses — outbreaks coupled with high rates of quarantine and isolation — we do not want to happen here.”

All Drexel University undergraduate courses will be conducted remotely during the fall semester except for some clinical programs in the College of Nursing and Health Professions.

Drexel University housing will be closed to all undergraduate students this fall with the exception for those in emergency situations, such as international students who are unable to travel home.

Drexel graduate students will continue under a hybrid learning plan in the fall with limited activity and under strict health and safety guidelines.

Fry also announced Drexel will cancel the tuition increase and implement a tuition freeze for all undergraduate students in the fall 2020 term to help them deal with financial difficulties.

You can find more information about Drexel University’s reopening plan here.