Renzo Downey
Students will attend classes remotely at the Florida A&M University College of Law during the fall, a change Monday from its original plan.
The law school had planned to follow a hybrid model with some classes taught in the classroom and others taught online. But with a recent recommendation made to College of Law Dean Deidré Keller by the College of Law Reopening Task Force, classes will stay remote when students return Aug. 10.
“While we recognize that this is a shift in direction, we have made this decision because we believe it is in the best interest of our students, faculty and staff,” said Keller, who began her tenure as dean and law professor on July 1.
The Task Force considered a number of issues regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, including current outbreak numbers, the influx of students moving to Central Florida, health risks, student concerns, class sizes, classroom sizes, and the actions of public schools, universities and colleges.
“We’ve concluded that given the current trends, there is a significant possibility of circumstances evolving such that online instruction becomes necessary at some point during the semester,” Keller added.
Students never returned to campus after the law school’s spring break because classes went online beginning March 23. Summer courses, also online, end this month.
The law school will host a virtual town hall Thursday to discuss the online plans with current and incoming students, faculty and staff.
“The timing of this communication is intended to give students, faculty, and staff as much notice of the change as possible,” Keller said, “because the College of Law and University are committed to all of our law students receiving a quality legal education experience in the online environment.”
More than 500 students attend the FAMU law program in Orlando.
Orlando has the most cases of any city in the state, with 10,746 total. Central Florida logged 802 new COVID-19 cases in data reported Monday.
