Students will not be walking about the University of Mississippi’s Oxford campus for the remainder of the spring, and now it may be late August before they return.

Provost Noel Wilkin sent a letter out to the Ole Miss faculty, staff and students announcing all summer sessions will be conducted remotely through online or other alternative methods. The remainder of the spring semester shifted to remote instruction on March 23, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I’m confident that we will get through this,” Wilkins said in a letter to students. “We will come to develop a greater appreciation for those things that seemed so simple, and we will emerge a stronger community of scholars.”

On March 19, Ole Miss Chancellor Glenn Boyce announced the postponement of the 2020 Commencement ceremonies in May. A future date was to be determined once it was safe to hold mass gatherings again, though with Friday’s announcement regarding summer classes, the status of this year’s graduation event is still unknown.

Boyce also approved changes to the spring grading scale on March 21 due, to shifting to remote instruction for the remainder of the semester.

Registration options for the Fall 2020 semester have not changed at this time, according to Wilkin’s email. The fall semester is scheduled to begin on Aug. 24.

“Any future changes to that plan will depend on how the public health emergency unfolds over the coming months,” the email read. “If we are forced to shift to remote course delivery, some courses could be affected.”

Students will be notified by University leadership if any changes to the fall semester are made.