NORTH CAROLINA -- Private colleges and universities across North Carolina are in uncharted territory as they figure out how they're going to welcome students back this fall.

The new health and safety task force at High Point University, made up of leaders from medical services, facilities, academics, and other departments, is meeting three times per week.

They're considering how they'll hold classes while respecting social distancing, the materials they'll need to protect students and staff, and how they'll feed students safely on a daily basis.

They're also in the process of figuring out how to handle big events like athletics, concerts, and graduation.

In Charlotte, Johnson & Wales University is a little different because students have to be on campus in the kitchen to learn.

So, the school will have a summer term for the first time to allow 261 students to finish their classes.

It plans to put fewer students in each lab to encourage social distancing and it's already set up new sanitizing stations around campus.

Private schools in particular, which rely heavily on income from tuition, are trying their best to put these measures in place as quickly as possible.

Other private schools across the state, including Duke University and Queens College in Charlotte, say they're still updating safety protocols and plan to share plans with their communities soon.