FIU Student Town Hall Addressing Upcoming Spring Semester

Jordan Coll / News Director

FIU hosted a town hall meeting today to layout reopening plans for the upcoming spring semester.

“Our purpose today is to have a conversation with you, to listen to you [students] and your concerns,” said FIU President Mark B. Rosenberg.

Academic provost Kenneth Furton spoke on how the courses will be carried out this coming spring. The options will require students to take in-person, hybrid courses, synchronous remote, or fully online courses.

Furton assured courses conducted on-campus will be in compliance with regulations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

“Students who are found returning to campus are required to fill out the Panthers Protecting Panthers application and fill out the screening questionnaire,” said Furton.

The questionnaire will be available in English, Spanish, and Creole, and students are required to fill out every time they go to campus.

Eneida Roldan, FIU chief executive officer of the Health Care Network, spoke on the number of students tested and the university’s support for coronavirus testing in Miami-Dade County.

“3,963 FIU students have been administered COVID-19 testing,” said Roldan. “Over 97,000 tests have been provided to Miami-Dade county residents since April 8 and 1,000 tests daily.”

Student activities online until the remainder of the year.  Spring activities are still being worked on, according to Natalie Lamam, FIU campus outreach coordinator. 

International students who wish to return to campus for the spring will be required to go through a student travel committee, according to Furton.

Dining options will be available for students in the spring with space limitations.

“FIU dining hall will expand in relation to the demand of students, but is still in the works,” said Kenneth Jessell, FIU vice president for finance and administration.

A student asked about the recent racial slur video posted by an FIU student.

“Hatred and bigotry are not aligned with the values of our FIU community,” said Rosenberg. Due to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), he would not make any further remarks on the student.

Andrew Naylor, FIU senior director of housing and residential life stated students who decide to dorm will be accommodated based on their individual needs. “70-80 percent of student occupancy is expected for students in the spring semester,”

The town hall ended with a Q&A session.