As I am sure you are aware, the trajectory of the pandemic is of increasing concern, statewide and nationally. And I know that you, like many across the globe, are feeling the impacts in your personal and professional lives. In light of this, I write to share important news about the coming fall semester.
In order to protect the health and safety of all community members and to allow students, staff, and faculty to plan in the face of uncertainty, I have made two decisions:
1. We will move all classes online in the fall 2020 (“F20”) term; and
2. We will have an on-campus presence this fall, with socially-distanced in-person engagements including community events, social activities, faculty office hours, and study opportunities, as soon as San Francisco Department of Public Health (“Public Health”) guidelines permit.
— Chancellor and Dean David L. Faigman of UC Hastings College of the Law, in an email to the law school community concerning his decision to move all Fall 2020 classes to an online learning environment. Faigman notes in his message that this decision is “final,” and that despite the switch to remote classes, tuition will not be reduced as “[t]he cost of providing an outstanding legal education for our students is essentially the same, whether it is delivered in person or online.” The school joins Harvard Law, Berkeley Law, Vermont Law, UConn Law, and Cooley Law in the decision to hold all classes online this coming fall. Harvard is being sued over its “outrageous tuition” for remote classes.
(Flip to the next page to read Faigman’s email in full.)
Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.