CONTACT: Michelle Eubanks, UNA, at meubanks@una.edu, 256-606-2033 or 256-765-4392 May 4, 2020

FLORENCE, AL – Officials at the University of North Alabama have today announced plans for a return to face-to-face instruction for students enrolled for the Fall 2020 semester. The process will be a phased approach, with employees returning to campus throughout May, and through careful adherence to social distancing and other suggested wellness guidelines.

“After weeks of monitoring the situation through frequent advisory team meetings, as well as closely following the guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Alabama Department of Public Health, our plan to allow residential students to return and for the resumption of on-campus instruction is meticulous and thorough,” said UNA President Ken Kitts. “We have been fortunate in the Shoals that the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases and rates of infection have been low. This, along with a leveling of confirmed cases and great work by our faculty and staff, gives us confidence as we look forward to welcoming our students back to campus.”

UNA shifted to a fully online/remote learning environment on March 15. On March 30, the campus closed to visitors at sundown each day, and faculty and staff transitioned to remote work.

Today, with the phased lifting of Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey’s stay-at-home order, UNA will begin the process of reopening campus. The first phase will include a gradual return to campus by employees on a schedule determined by the Office of Human Resources.

Despite the disruptions of the past two months, student interest in UNA remains strong. Enrollment for the summer terms, which will continue in the established online/remote learning environment, is up 15 percent from Summer 2019. Further, new students for the fall term will be able to participate in virtual Summer Orientation, Advisement, and Registration (SOAR) sessions. Housing applications for the upcoming school year are running ahead of previous years.

“We have taken – and will continue to take – the precautions necessary to ensure the safety and well-being of or students, faculty, and staff,” Dr. Kitts said. “We have also created the COVID- 19 Recovery Task Force, the mission of which is to continue to address safety and health

concerns as the University takes these steps to reopen and prepares for our students’ return for the upcoming academic year.”

About The University of North Alabama

The University of North Alabama is an accredited, comprehensive regional state university offering undergraduate and graduate degree programs through the colleges of Arts and Sciences, Business, Education and Human Sciences, and the Anderson College of Nursing and Health Professions. Occupying a 130-acre campus in a residential section of Florence, Alabama, UNA is located within a four-city area that also includes Muscle Shoals, Sheffield, and Tuscumbia. UNA Athletics, a renowned collegiate athletics program with seven (7) Division II National Championships, is now a proud member of the NCAA Division I’s ASUN Big South Conference. The University of North Alabama is an equal opportunity institution and does not discriminate in the admission policy on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, disability, age, or national origin. For more: www.una.edu and www.una.edu/unaworks/