Gov. Ned Lamont told CNBC on Tuesday that he wants colleges and universities in Connecticut "to open in the fall," provided it is safe to do so.

"It's a big part of our state," Lamont, a Democrat, said on "Squawk on the Street." "We have the best and the brightest coming to Connecticut to get educated, and it'd be a shame that they didn't come ... because it wasn't safe," he added.

The state is home to Yale University, the University of Connecticut and Quinnipiac University, among others.

Lamont's comments come as institutions of higher education across the U.S. grapple with how to hold classes in the fall during to the coronavirus pandemic.

Most colleges and universities took steps this spring to cancel in-person instruction for the current academic period, shifting classes online as the threat from the Covid-19 outbreak intensified. But a lot of the focus now is on how —or if — to safely resume in-person classes in the coming months.

The president of Yale, Peter Salovey, told the university community in an email last week that it intended to announce plans for the fall semester by early July. "I understand that we all need time to make plans," he wrote in the email, according to the Yale Daily News. "If we can do so sooner, we will."

Lamont said the strategies of institutions may vary depending on their size and the nature of their student body.

"Obviously, if you're more of a commuter campus, less risk. If you have big residence halls, a little more of a risk," said Lamont, who also expressed hope that progress in Covid-19 testing and treatments may mean "we'll be on the backside of this come this fall."