Update on Summer Term Plans
Dear students, faculty, and staff,
I want to let you know that our UT Knoxville leadership team, in coordination with UT System President Randy Boyd and the other UT System chancellors, has made the decision to continue online-only instruction through the summer.
This may come as a disappointment to many of you, as it does to me. We are doing this because we believe it is the best decision to protect our community and our health care system. Given the uncertainty around how this virus will continue to spread in the coming weeks and months, and the evolving federal guidance on social distancing, making this decision now will allow both students and faculty to prepare for fully online courses through the summer.
The decision to stay online through summer classes includes the May mini-term. Plans regarding other nonathletic university-sponsored summer events will be announced in the coming days. Decisions related to athletics will be made in consultation with the NCAA and the SEC.
We understand there are a number of questions and logistics to work through and we will be providing additional information as quickly as possible. Please wait until you receive further guidance from us about changes to mini-term and summer fees before contacting One Stop with your questions.
The resilience and collaboration all of you have shown over the past three weeks as we worked together to deliver more than 360,000 credit hours online give me full confidence that we can continue to give our students a top education despite these unusual circumstances. It’s important to all of us that our students are successful and that they continue on their path toward graduation.
Thank you to everyone who has supported this mission—the faculty who are delivering their curriculum in this new format, the students who are adjusting to this new way of learning, and the staff who are continuing their vital role in supporting this work.
Donde Plowman
Chancellor