From the Provost — April 2, 2021
Planning for larger courses in Autumn 2021
Dear colleagues,
As part of our effort to provide more opportunities for in-person teaching and learning this autumn, we will allow some courses to take place with enrollments of 100 or more students.
Specifically, we have identified gateway courses in Arts and Sciences that can be safely offered in classrooms where the capacity will be restricted to 50% of its pre-COVID capacity. This is an adjustment to our previously announced course planning strategy for autumn but aligns with the intent to allow smaller classrooms to return to pre-COVID capacities while constraining the density of larger class sizes.
This adjustment will allow us to better serve the first- and second-year students who primarily enroll in these courses. While this decision is specific to Arts and Sciences courses, these courses are required in a variety of academic programs.
To accommodate these larger classes, some students may need to adjust their schedules. Thank you for assisting any affected students.
Additional requests to hold in-person classes of 100 or more students may be directed to Vice Provost Randy Smith. Broader policy questions may be directed to Senior Vice Provost Kay Wolf.
Thank you,
Bruce A. McPheron, PhD
Executive Vice President and Provost