To Our Faculty, Staff and Students:
We write today with updates regarding our plans for the spring semester—specifically, its calendar.
First, however, we want to thank you for your tremendous efforts to make this semester as safe and constructive as possible this fall. We appreciate your adherence to COVID-19 protocols over the past several weeks, as well as your commitment to meaningful education, research and community engagement.
Because of you, Case Western Reserve has been able to continue full in-person and remote instruction for these first six weeks. Because of you, we can contemplate a spring semester that continues to offer in-person instruction and on-campus housing—even with the significant challenges that winter weather brings. Please remember the higher likelihood of infection when together indoors, and keep masks on even in small groups.
We appreciate that it has not been easy—especially for those students unable to live on or near campus this semester. After the spring’s rapid switch to remote learning, your perseverance through yet more online courses and activities impresses and inspires. Thank you for your patience and, even more, for your understanding of the need to lower transmission risks by having fewer students on campus. Next week, we will provide information regarding housing plans for the spring.
Below are the dates for the spring semester’s primary academic calendar (some programs have different schedules), with the caveat that we may need to adjust them based on new developments. As part of our efforts to reduce infection risks, we have delayed the start of the semester by two weeks and removed the traditional spring break. Students will have a day off in each of two separate weeks; those dates are still being finalized.
- Monday, Feb. 1: First Day of Spring Semester Classes
- Friday, May 7: Last Day of Spring Semester Classes
- Monday, May 10, and Friday, May 14: Reading Days
- Tuesday, May 11: Final Exams Begin
- Wednesday, May 19: Final Exams End
- Sunday, May 30: Commencement
In addition, the university will offer remote courses Jan. 8–29, with Monday, Jan. 18, observed as the federal Martin Luther King Jr. Day. These for-credit classes are considered part of the spring semester, so spring tuition covers their costs. We will provide additional details about these courses soon, along with information for students who need to stay on campus between the two semesters.
Scott Cowen
Interim President
Ben Vinson III
Provost and Executive Vice President