Waterford Institute of Technology has confirmed that all lectures, tutorial and practical classes will be delivered remotely for the coming academic year.
Lab and workshops that require special equipment will take place on campus.
The Vice President for Academic Affairs, Dr Derek O'Byrne has written to all students advising them of their plan for the year ahead.
He says they have developed a model which places the welfare of students, staff and communities at the forefront of their thinking.
Updated timetables are being worked on and will be sent to students in mid-September.
The level of on and off-campus activity will vary depending on the individual course however, all lectures, tutorial and practical classes will be delivered remotely for the year, it will include live-streaming of lectures and the use of appropriate platforms.
Laboratories and workshops or those that require special equipment will take place on campus but will have appropriate social distancing and PPE.
The institute is advising students to be as flexible as possible when it comes to accommodation, travel and general study for 2020 to 21. They say that students who have booked WIT accommodation and have a change of mind before signing a contract will have their deposit returned.
In a statement issued to WLR News, the student body said they "appreciate the difficulty that students and [their] families have in planning for college during a changing situation dictated by public health considerations. We advise that [students] be as flexible as possible in your planning particularly regarding accommodation, travel and general study arrangements for 2020/21. Our campus accommodation would like to assure students who have booked WIT accommodation and have a change of mind before signing a contract that their deposits will be refunded on request.
In the meantime, we will continue to provide you with more details as we have them. For instance, updated timetables are being worked on by our timetabling unit and we will provide those to [students] as soon as they are available which is likely to be mid-September. Our library, shop and restaurants will all be open, albeit in a more restricted manner. Orientation will take place for first years but in a different way than previous years and we are working on a phased return to campus learning once national restrictions ease. All these and many more details are being worked out and we will update you once we have a more definite information to give."
