West Chester becomes 1st Pennsylvania public university to announce online only classes this fall

West Chester University of Pennsylvania became the first public university in the state to announce it will open the fall semester almost entirely online.

Located just outside of Philadelphia, West Chester posted an enrollment of 17,700 last fall and is the largest university in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE). It is the only member of the 14-school group to post significant growth over the last decade.

PASSHE schools in Western Pennsylvania, including Indiana, Slippery Rock, California and Edinboro, have all announced plans to resume classes on campus with various adjustments for the covid-19 pandemic.

West Chester President Christopher Fiorentino announced the decision to go online Friday, citing dangers posed by covid-19 spikes in recent weeks.

Fiorentino said the school will offer a few courses in a hybrid format this fall to make allowances for students in clinical placements, student teaching, internships and similar programs. But nearly all classes will be provided online only.

West Chester’s announcement came as universities across the country weigh the threats of infection posed by opening campuses this fall, the likelihood that some incoming students might put off college for a year if all classes were online and the Trump administration’s announcement that more than 1 million international students could face deportation if they are not attending classes in person this fall.

Colleges and universities have until July 15 to announce their plans for the fall semester. Although an online database of colleges that have announced plans for the fall semester suggests many are still planning some kind of classes on campus this fall, West Chester is not alone. The California State University system, Harvard, MIT and University of Southern California all have announced plans to reopen entirely online this fall.

Closer to home, the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University, Penn State and Indiana University of Pennsylvania have all announced plans to reopen this fall with a combination of in person and online classes.