University of Cambridge nixes in-person lectures for 2020-21 academic year, but may allow smaller classes

The University of Cambridge is planning to keep at least some aspects of campus remote for the entire 2020-21 academic year because of the coronavirus pandemic, which has hit the United Kingdom hard.

The student newspaper Varsity reported Tuesday that an email from the university's head of education services, Alice Brenton, said because "rigid social distancing" will likely still be required throughout the next school year, "there will be no face-to-face lectures." Cambridge, you might have heard, is a fairly old and prestigious university, and the decision to keep lectures remote for an entire year seems like a historic decision.

For now, campus life doesn't sound like it will completely shutdown, however. Lecture halls will instead host "smaller group teaching" with the idea that the larger space will allow for social distancing. That said, the university has warned that it's possible even these classes could remain remote.

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In the United States, colleges and universities are still trying to figure out how to handle a potential return to campus. The California State University system has said it will keep classes online for the fall semester, while the University of Notre Dame is planning to re-open with an adapted, accelerated schedule to reduce the risks of students bringing the virus from their homes back to campus.