MTSU students begin move-in with new pandemic precautions affecting dorms, classes

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WTVF) — It's move-in day at Middle Tennessee State University, and university officials have been planning for months to make sure everyone is safe this fall.

Move-in starts at 8 a.m. Wednesday morning, and there are new rules in place for students and their families to keep everyone healthy.

Students had to schedule a move-in time so they didn't all arrive at once. They're also only allowed to have two people with them to help, and everyone needs to wear a mask and gloves.

Also, there won’t be any roommates this year. It's one person per-dorm room to mitigate the spread of the virus.

There are also changes to classes. While some will still meet in-person, the university is also offering other options that integrate online learning.

The university also has new technology that will record a professor's lectures and post them online so a student can get to them if they can't make it to class. As for those large classes of more than 100 people, the university says it's clearing out ball rooms so students can still get together and learn.

“What we've settled on for this fall is this mix of classes, bringing the classes where it makes the most sense on ground and putting others fully or partly online, so it's been a big puzzle to try to figure out how to do all of that,” said Provost Dr. Mark Byrnes.

The fall semester starts next week.