Indiana University will open to students in the fall with a combination of in person and online classes, along with a modified academic calendar, President Michael McRobbie announced Wednesday.

The academic calendar will eliminate fall and spring breaks and adds additional course options for students.

The fall semester will begin on August 24 for in person and/or online classes through November 20. From November 30 through December 20 - all classes will be online only.

In the spring semester, classes will meet online from January 19 through February 7. Then classes will begin in-person or remain online through May 9, the end of the semester.

The fall semester will run from August 24 to December 20. Class will meet in person or online until November 20. All classes will move to online only on November 30.

This creates a new online winter session from November 30 to February 7, an opportunity for additional credit hours.

Undergraduate students who take advantage of IU's banded tuition rates can include courses from the fall semester, winter session or spring semester as part of the new calendar without any additional cost.

"As we have said repeatedly, the safety and well-being of all IU students, faculty and staff is our highest priority," McRobbie said in his message to IU students, faculty and staff. "We have followed a methodical and deliberate approach in developing our plans for the new academic year and are relying on the best health and safety guidance available."

For students who reside in dorms, rooms will be single occupancy, however, students can go through a process to request a roommate.

Last week, IU announced a partnership with IU Health to provide COVID-19 screening, testing and management services for the 140,000 faculty, staff and students at all IU campuses and facilities across the state.

Exact details on tuition, fees and registration, as well as residence hall information for each campus, will be provided in the coming days.