Dear Members of the Lehigh Community,
I am writing to share with you the revisions we’ve made to the academic calendar of the Spring 2021 term. As part of our ongoing efforts to reduce health risks to the members of our community, and upon the recommendation of the Calendar Committee, we are adopting a condensed semester in which students can remain engaged in coursework on campus and avoid travel to other regions. Experts tell us that such travel would increase the risk of spreading COVID-19.
First, in order to give additional time for staff and faculty to prepare the campus, the university will delay the spring term by one week. This will make February 1 the first day of classes, rather than January 25.
Second, the university will cancel Spring Break, previously scheduled for March 15-19. We encourage students to stay on campus as much as possible once they arrive for the spring semester, as this will reduce the risk of infection and transmission of the coronavirus. We anticipate that arrival on campus will involve a COVID testing protocol, the details of which will be provided at a later date.
At this time, we do not anticipate that these changes will affect the scheduling of final exams, posting of final grades, or commencement exercises. I am directing the Registrar to revise the academic calendar to reflect these plans.
We will share additional information about Spring 2021 in the coming weeks. The situation with the pandemic remains fluid, and we are prepared to pivot as needed, as we have had to this Fall.
Thank you for your continued support of Lehigh’s measures to preserve the health and welfare of our community.
Sincerely,
Nathan Urban
Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs