The University of Connecticut has announced plans for the spring semester and said on-campus housing will remain at around 50 percent capacity, the first two weeks of classes will be remote, spring break has been pushed back to April and students will return home after the break and finish classes and exams remotely.
“We have reached the point where our community must make decisions about many aspects of the spring semester. Because we cannot know right now what the COVID-19 conditions will be in the spring, our best approach is to model our decisions for the next semester on what we have done for the fall. With that in mind, student, faculty, and staff leaders have been hard at work reviewing plans and making decisions for how we will proceed with the spring semester. We have also been in frequent contact with local and state officials, and the Connecticut Department of Public Health is in full support of our plans,” Carl Lejuez, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at UConn, said in a statement to the school community.
Spring break was originally scheduled for March 14 to 20 and it has been moved to April 11 to 17 and the University Senate also approved two reading days before final exams.
UConn Spring Calendar
- Jan. 19, 2021 – First day of spring semester classes
- April 11 – 17, 2021 – Spring break
- April 19, 2021 – Spring classes resume
- April 29 – May 2, 2021 – Reading days (no classes or assessments)
- May 3 – 8, 2021 – Final Assessments
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He said students felt that the two-week quarantine before the start of fall classes was challenging so the first two weeks of all classes will be remote so residential students can quarantine at the same time as spring courses start, students will return home after spring break and the last two weeks of classes, as well as exams, will be remote for all students.
The school senate made a temporary change in the by-laws for this academic year affecting pass/fail for undergraduates and the change extends the deadlines to add or remove courses as pass/fail and also extends pass/fail availability to undergraduates with fewer than 26 credits and undergraduates on scholastic probation. Pass/fail is not available to graduate students. Click here for more details on the Provost’s Office website.
UConn will continue to offer the fee reductions. A student can receive the fee reduction if they are not living on campus and they have no in-person courses.
Residential areas will be open at around 50 percent occupancy and all residential students at Storrs and Stamford will have to take part in re-entry testing and a two-week residential quarantine. Students on campus for the fall who plan to return for the spring semester will have the option to remain in their same assignment and keep their belongings in that assignment over winter recess.
Similar to the current semester, the cost of housing and dining will remain the same as the previous academic year.
The University is hosting a town hall focused on academics for faculty, staff, and instructors next week, Friday Oct. 16 from 3:30 to 5 p.m.
“The last several months have been difficult for each of us in different ways; however, in that time I have also seen countless examples of our community working together and looking out for each other. I am proud to be a part of UConn Nation alongside each of you as we navigate unprecedented challenges,” Lejuez said in a statement.
