The University of Iowa announced in an email to faculty, staff, and students Monday that it will return to regular pay practices beginning May 18 as the university faces a $70 million loss due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. 

As previously reported by the DI, Iowa’s three public university presidents told the state Board of Regents the financial toll of responding to the COVID-19 pandemic is around $200 million at their April 30 meeting. The regents unveiled a plan at that meeting to recommend no hikes in tuition and fees for the 2020-21 academic year. 

Each college will work to understand potential changes in enrollment and make decisions about future staffing needs based on those projections, according to the email. 

For faculty, contract extensions and new hires will follow regular processes according to the academic and research needs of the employing college, the email said. For staff, if meaningful work for their current position is not available, they will be asked to register for the temporary redeployment pool. 

If a UI employee is unable to work due to COVID-19 related health conditions or because they need to care for a child who’s school or form of child-care has closed due to COVID-19, the continuation of their pay leave will depend on their employee category and eligibility, the email said. 

The UI also announced that it will not bill students for some fees during online-only courses during summer 2020. 

RELATED: University of Iowa moves remainder of summer sessions online

Courses for all five summer sessions have moved to a virtual format amid the spread of novel coronavirus. 

The waived fees for the summer include the recreation fee, arts and cultural events fee, student activities fee, building fee, and student union fee. The other fees charged over the summer are necessary to maintain campus operations and support services for students, according to the email. 

As previously reported by The Daily Iowan, the UI announced earlier this month that the fourth and fifth summer sessions which begin on June 15 and June 29, would move online. 

According to a previous email from the UI, clinical and experimental activities that were supposed to occur during the summer sessions would be addressed based on individual programs. 

No in-person summer programs will be offered at the UI through Aug. 7. All other campus events scheduled through July 31 were also canceled, the DI previously reported. 

The UI Office of the Vice President of Research and the Human Subjects Office are also providing updated guidance for human-subjects related research, the email said. 

This update only applies to research studies occurring in the UI Hospitals and Clinics and other clinical settings during scheduled patient visits.