<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/5/1589567736951.jpeg" alt="Missouri Western State University/Photo by Brent Martin" />
 <figcaption>Missouri Western State University/Photo by Brent Martin</figcaption>
 </figure>By BRENT MARTINSt. Joseph PostMissouri Western State University hopes to welcome students
back to the St. Joseph campus this fall.Missouri Western President Matt Wilson says online learning
just cannot replace the college campus experience, both for the student and the
university.“If you don’t have anybody in your dorms, you have nobody
eating your meals, you have nobody on your campus for athletic events, conferences,
conventions, those types of things, there are staff that typically would be
handling those that no longer have a job,” Wilson tells host Barry Birr on the
KFEQ Hotline. “And so, I’m hoping and praying that we’re at a point where we’re
going to be able to open in the fall, open to the community, open to our
students.”Wilson says the decision by the University of California
system to continue online instruction this fall due to COVID-19 sent shockwaves
through higher education.Wilson says it is the intent of Missouri Western to reopen this
fall.Wilson says a university just isn’t the same if classes are
conducted online and not on campus.“That’s one of the magical aspects of a university is an
experience that you have on a campus, the interaction that you have in a
classroom, the extracurricular activities that are out there as well,”
according to Wilson. “That really is the big question mark and the big factor
that’s out there, not only for Missouri Western, but for all universities across
the state and the nation.”Wilson acknowledges the campus will have to make changes if it
is to be ready for students once again. He says one thing tops the list in
preparing a college campus in the age of coronavirus.“I mean a big part of it is cleanliness. The amount of
cleaning, sanitation, those type of things that have occurred on our campus to
date and will continue is something that truly is unprecedented,” Wilson says. “You’ll
see a lot more flexibility. There will be professors I am sure that are
uncomfortable being in a classroom, because of their health history and
conditions.”Also, administrators are preparing the university in case
another bout of COVID-19 breaks out, Wilson says.

Missouri Western plans to reopen St. Joe campus this fall