Courses will move online following Thanksgiving break, Provost Cheryl Brandsen announced in an email Tuesday morning. 

This and other scheduling changes were made to mitigate the risk of students spreading COVID-19 on campus during the 2020-2021 academic year. According to the email, staff and faculty are already working to ensure that the last seven days of class and final exams can be completed remotely with minimal disruption to courses.

The email also announced that fall break and academic advising have been broken up to discourage students from using the break to leave campus. Advising and break are now scheduled to take place on Oct. 8, Oct. 21, and Nov. 3.

Classes are still expected to begin on campus on Sept. 1, and the university has also decided to meet on Labor Day, Sept. 7, to make up for other scheduling changes.

The final change announced was the rescheduling of Spring Break to March 15-19, 2021 “to provide greater separation between the break and Good Friday / Easter weekend.”

The frequently asked questions document provided alongside the changes states that the university does not expect scheduling adjustments to lower the cost of housing. “We do not anticipate issuing refunds for these days, given the overall increased costs to the institution that we anticipate as we prepare and maintain a safe housing program for the fall 2020 semester.”

According to the FAQs, more than twenty drafts were proposed before arriving at the current calendar, and although the university hopes to abide by this schedule, changes may be necessary in response to developments in the COVID-19 pandemic.