UNCG announces updates to spring calendar

Posted on October 13, 2020

Photo of Minerva statue and building on campus

The following message was sent to the campus community on Tuesday, Oct. 13.

Dear UNCG Community,

As we continue to move through our Fall 2020 semester at UNCG, we are also solidifying our plans for what comes next in the Spring 2021 semester. Today, we are announcing adjustments to the UNCG Spring 2021 calendar. We have reviewed our academic requirements and examined the best practices for maintaining our physical and mental health as we move through the year. We are following similar strategies that have worked well, while also making changes based on what we have learned. Based on discussions with with faculty, students, and others across the higher education landscape, we have made decisions with a few key principles in mind:

  • Maximize the time students have between Fall and Spring semesters so they can recharge, regroup, and have an extended winter break after a stressful fall.
  • Avoid extending the length of the semester, pushing back exams, or changing the date of our Spring Commencement.
  • Offer courses with maximum flexibility in mind. As in the current term, students will be able to enroll in a range of online, in-person, and hybrid options. This will allow students to choose schedules that best fit their learning, living, and working lives. 

Specifically:

  • The first day of classes will be January 19. Starting one week later than planned provides an extended winter break (55 days), helps housing facilitate a safer environment for bringing students back, and respects and honors the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday.
  • Like many campuses, we will eliminate the traditional Spring Break in order to limit mass movement of people to and from campus, which has been proven to fuel the spread of the virus here and among our home communities. We know that this is disappointing, but the evidence from the fall clearly dictates this decision is necessary.
  • We have added a Health and Wellness Day on Wednesday, March 3. While we need to meet mandated guidelines for class hours in a compressed time frame, we also know students are facing significant pressures, and we hope this day without classes will be helpful.
  • The Spring Holiday will remain Friday, April 2, and Reading Day will remain Thursday, April 29, as currently scheduled.
  • Finals will remain Friday, April 30 to Thursday, May 6 as currently scheduled on our published calendar.

A more detailed calendar is available here. We will continue to provide updates in terms of course scheduling, housing, and other plans related to Spring 2021. You can expect to see additional communications on expanding our COVID-19 testing capabilities, evolution of our safety protocols, and ongoing updates to our operations as the situation merits. We ask for continued patience and kindness across our community, continued adherence to all policies and community standards, and continued vigilance as we navigate the remainder of this semester. Our goal is to make the UNCG experience as vibrant, valuable, and safe as possible for our students, faculty, staff, alumni, and visitors.

For the most up-to-date information, please monitor your email frequently, regularly visit the UNCG COVID-19 website, follow our @uncg social media channels, and download the UNCG Mobile app from the Google or iTunes app store app to receive push notifications directly to your phone. 

Thank you.

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