Information for Students

Changes to the Fall 2020 academic calendar

We will be moving to a compressed schedule.

  • The first day of classes moves from Thursday, August 27, to Monday, August 24.
  • Classes will meet on Labor Day, Monday, September 7.
  • Fall break is canceled and classes will be held on Thursday, October 15, and Friday, October 16.
  • The last day of classes now becomes Wednesday, November 18.
  • Final experiences/exams will be scheduled from Saturday, November 21, through Tuesday, November 24.

This fall, the faculty will teach courses in one of four different ways: In-person (IP), Hybrid Flexible or HyFlex (HF), Asynchronous Online (AO), or Synchronous Online (SO).

Note: We have not made any changes to the Winter Intersession or Spring 2021 semester academic calendar at this time.

Academic Calendar

Class Times

Class times will be extended. 

To end the fall semester prior to Thanksgiving, the daily class schedule needed to be altered. In most cases this means extending each class session from 5 to 15 minutes to ensure that the total instructional time for the semester meets the minimum federally mandated guidelines for a “credit hour.” 

For example, a typical Monday/Wednesday/Friday class that previously ran from 8 to 9:10 a.m. will now run until 9:15 a.m., and a class that previously started at 9:20 a.m. will now start at 9:25 am. You will be able to check out the entire class schedule once it is posted next week.

Class Locations

To allow for physical distancing, class room assignments may change.

The Fall Reopening Taskforce is working with campus operations staff this summer to make modifications to many classrooms to comply with physical distancing guidelines, and in some cases are repurposing larger rooms in the Athenaeum, Heubeck, Kraushaar, and elsewhere on campus into use as classrooms for the fall semester. 

We are also installing webcams in every single classroom, and additional flat screen monitors where appropriate, to ensure that faculty can teach in a hybrid fashion, with some students who may be immunocompromised or unable to return to campus attending a class virtually while other students are physically present. We anticipate continuing to make adjustments throughout the summer based on course-specific enrollments and the needs of each faculty member. 

Residence Halls

We want to share a number of new policies that affect housing for the fall, as follows:

  1. All students will be assigned to single occupancy rooms. All rooms (both doubles and singles) will be priced at the lower double-rate, with the exception of those with private baths, which will be charged a special double-room rate (still priced lower than a single rate). All students who previously drew into single rooms, were given accommodations, or were approved for the Welsh, Dulaney, Alcock, and Gallagher apartments will have the option to remain in those spaces and will be charged the double-room or special double-room rate.

  2. Dining. At the outset of the fall semester, to reduce the potential for the community spread of the virus, we will provide a number of pre-packaged meal options that will change daily and can be consumed in the dining hall or in designated locations across campus to promote appropriate physical distancing.

  3. Residents will be required to abide by the COVID-19 Addendum to the 2020-21 Housing & Dining Contract. You can find the revised document here. It lays out a number of steps the College is taking to ensure the safety of our community.

  4. A one-time exception to our current residency requirement will be in place for the 2020-21 academic year. In addition, the geographic perimeter for commuter status has increased from 30 to 50 miles. Again, this change is for the 2020-21 academic year only. Our regular on-campus residency requirement will return for the 2021-22 academic year, and all students who live off-campus due to an exception will participate in the standard room draw process in the spring of 2021.


For more information, see Frequently Asked Questions.