In an email from to ETSU students, faculty and staff Friday morning, Senior Vice President for Academics and Interim Provost Wilsie Bishop announced that about 80% of spring classes will be offered remotely and that the spring academic calendar has been revised with adjustments to spring break.
The majority of spring academic courses will be online with either a synchronous or asynchronous delivery. Other course formats offered include on-ground required and on-ground with remote options. Location changes are being made to maximize larger classrooms and encourage social distancing for on-ground courses.
Bishop mentioned the success of modifications, safety practices and sanitation protocols put in place for the fall due to COVID-19 pandemic as reasoning for this decision.
“Fortunately, our incident rates of COVID-19 on campus have remained relatively low throughout the semester, and given the ongoing uncertainties of the pandemic and our commitment to the health and safety of everyone, there is consensus across the university that these policies need to remain in place as we move into the 2021 year,” Bishop said in the email.
Bishop also announced spring academic calendar adjustments. The semester will start Jan. 19. Instead of a week off for spring break, the five days will be dispersed throughout the semester: Feb. 18-19, March 15-16 and April 14. The university will be closed in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Jan. 18, and Good Friday, April 2. Winter Session dates remain the same: Dec. 16 to Jan. 10.
The Quillen College of Medicine and Gatton College of Pharmacy will follow their own academic calendar for the spring semester.
“I appreciate the cooperation and patience of everyone as well as your commitment to the mission of the institution as we continue to navigate through these challenging times,” Bishop said.
For more information about format changes and course locations for spring classes, visit https://www.etsu.edu/reg/spring2021formatting.php#tab-4-1.
