Students and faculty in the UMaine system may not have to social distance when they return to campus in the fall.

The school told students and staff on Wednesday they’re looking ahead to the fall semester, and are hoping to return a pre-pandemic college experience for students thanks to Maine’s vaccination effort.

The pandemic has presented a challenge for colleges, which have had to reduce class sizes to adhere to six foot social distancing guidelines.

University system spokesman Dan Demeritt said he believes they’ll be in a position where they will not be hindered by social distancing and that, if they had to pick one or the other, masking wouldn’t be as limiting.

“With public health restrictions easing, and with new confidence stemming from the growing numbers who can and will receive the pandemic-ending vaccines that are available, it feels like we can finally say that the pandemic’s grip is loosening,” Chancellor Dannel Malloy said.

The school still plans to follow whatever state health and safety guidelines are in place in September.