Fresno State students can expect to take their fall semester courses online.

Chancellor Timothy White announced Tuesday the 23 California State University campuses would not reopen in the fall, and classes will be held virtually.

CSU courses will “primarily” be virtual except for some activities that cannot be delivered remotely, White said during Tuesday’s California State University board meeting. Some potential exceptions are clinical classes for nursing students and hands-on courses for agriculture, engineering, and architecture students.

“Anything done on a campus this fall won’t be as it was in the past, it will be different,” he said.

The limited in-person courses that are considered “indispensable” and can be “justified” will have fewer students attending, White said.

Sanger High senior Agustin Aguilar plans to attend Fresno State in the fall. He said Tuesday’s news wouldn’t deter him, but he wasn’t excited about the prospect of online learning.

“I feel kind of disappointed to be taking online classes, but hopefully I get back on track to actually ... doing my school work by then,” Aguilar told The Bee.

It was unclear Tuesday how – or if – the semester’s primarily virtual curriculum might affect tuition fees. Aguilar said he’s “hoping” for a break.

“Hopefully (tuition will be) as low as the average online university,” Aguilar said.

White said discussions about tuition and fees are in the works, but no decisions have been reached.

“We have not had that conversation yet because we are waiting to get to the May (budget) revise and have a better sense of the costs that we’re facing,” White said. “That will be a conversation for us in the July (CSU) board of trustee’s meeting.”

Schools and universities are bracing for massive budget shortfalls in the wake of the coronavirus, which closed schools and businesses across the nation and triggered massive unemployment spikes.

To help plan for the upcoming semester Fresno State President Joseph I. Castro last week announced a Fall 2020 Planning Task Force, co-chaired by Provost Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval and Vice President Debbie Adishian-Astone. Students, faculty, and staff are also a part of the group.

“We are grateful for the Chancellor Office’s guidance, as well as their demonstrated flexibility by understanding that each campus has its own geographic, population-density and public-health variables,” the task force co-chairs said in a statement following White’s announcement.

The task force is looking at operational needs like what on-campus living can look like, what to do about athletics, counseling, and student support services, among others. The task force will submit its recommendations to Castro on May 22, and an announcement about fall instruction will follow in June.

Castro said the administration is looking at several possibilities, but acknowledged it’s unlikely campus life will return to normal.

Fresno State is “prioritizing in-person instruction for courses with academic outcomes that cannot be achieved virtually, such as performance, laboratory, and clinical experiences,” the statement said.

The task force will examine which facilities can accommodate in-person classes while following social distancing guidelines, the statement said. A classroom that could usually fit 30 students would be restricted to five students and one instructor.

Many California community colleges already have said fall classes will mostly be conducted online. Fresno-area community colleges have yet to announce fall plans.

The Education Lab is a local journalism initiative that highlights education issues critical to the advancement of the San Joaquin Valley. It is funded by donors. Learn about The Bee’s Education Lab on our website.

This story was originally published May 12, 2020 at 12:28 PM.