AMES, Iowa — Students at Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa will hit the books a week early for the fall semester due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
A release from Iowa State says classes will start Aug. 17, a week earlier than scheduled, and wrap up Nov. 25, the day before Thanksgiving.
Classes at UNI will follow the same schedule with a start of Aug. 17 and finals wrapping up by Nov. 25.
Both universities will have classes on Labor Day.
This is all in an effort to "maximize in-person learning and the student learning experiences that are a defining characteristic of an Iowa State education," according to Iowa State University President Wendy Wintersteen.
UNI President Mark Nook made a similar statement.
"These changes will give us the opportunity to futher protect our campus community while still holding a full semester of on-campus teaching and learning activities," Nook said.
Classes for both ISU and UNI will be a mix of in-person and online instruction. Class sizes will be limited for both.
Both universities stated that faculty and students will be expected to wear cloth face coverings for in-person classes.
The University of Iowa is also planning to bring students back to campus, however, they haven't yet released information on if they will be following fellow Board of Regents universities on starting and ending their fall semester early.