Thousands Of Fresno State Students Will Return To Campus Amid Pandemic

Nearly 3,000 students will return to college classrooms for Fresno State's spring semester.

While the semester officially begins Thursday, January 21, the school will wait until February 8 to bring back a portion of its student body.

2,860 students will resume in-person learning next month, according to ABC30. Those students are mostly enrolled in health science and lab courses, saying that they require in-person instruction to complete courses.

"Specifically nursing, they need that 50% of practice in person in order to get their degree," said Interim Fresno State President Saul Jimenez-Sandoval. "Some labs, for example in chemistry, have to be taught face to face therefore we have to have face to face on campus as well."

The campus farm has also allowed students to resume in-person learning.

Safety protocols including face masks, temperature checks, and social distancing will be mandatory for anyone on campus.

Jimenez-Sandoval said that despite the pandemic, enrollment at the CSU actually increased for the spring semester.

"We actually have more this semester than we did last year," he said. "We have about 25,000 students enrolled at Fresno State right now."

Jiminez-Sandoval hopes to have 70% of faculty members back on campus for the 2021 fall semester.

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