Chico State announced on Tuesday the outside possibility of most faculty and staff returning to campus for the Fall 2021 semester, but the impact this would have on students and Fall 2021 in-person classes remains unclear. 

“As the vaccination rate accelerates and we move toward herd immunity,” President Gayle Hutchinson announced in an email to faculty and staff on Tuesday, “there is a possibility that we may be able to fully return to campus during the Fall 2021 semester. At the latest, we are expecting full in-person staffing to support our students by January 2022.”

Butte County moved into California’s less-restrictive orange tier on Tuesday, allowing more businesses and restaurants to reopen inside at increased capacity. Earlier in the day, Chico State announced its plans for phrase three of the university’s Return To Campus Plan. 

“Beginning June 7, 2021, we will start increasing the number of employees who return to work on campus,” Hutchison wrote. “Every employee will not return at once, and we’ll continue to follow state and county health and safety guidelines. However, the goal is that every department will begin providing in-person services during normal business hours on June 7.”

Student registration for Fall 2021 classes begins April 26. 

Hutchinson also announced that all departments must provide limited on-campus services by August 2021 during normal operating hours.

The Orion will continue to follow this story as more information becomes available.

Matthew Wreden can be contacted at [email protected] or on Twitter at @bymattwreden.