Classroom assignments for the upcoming fall semester have been posted on the Schedule of Classes, including information on room location and instructional mode, an additional step toward a resumption of normalcy this fall.
Officials said in an email to the GW community Monday that space assignments are being made for instruction at the Virginia Science and Technology Campus and other off-campus GW locations, but only limited courses designated for hybrid or online modalities will have an online component. The announcement to the broader GW community further confirms plans of an in-person fall semester mentioned in a letter sent to faculty last month, which stated that classes would be “principally” in person with the majority of campus buildings opening by the fall.
Officials had previously spent months planning for an eventual return to in-person instruction, maintaining that the fall semester would be in person to the “fullest extent possible.” The email states the classroom assignments are subject to change.
“At GW, we are spending the summer preparing our campus and operations for a comprehensive, in-person living and learning fall experience for our students, faculty and staff,” the email reads.
Classes moved online after students emptied campus to isolate at the onset of the pandemic’s outbreak last March, and instruction has remained almost entirely online since. The University launched its “phased reopening” of campus this summer with more than 60 courses featuring in-person or hybrid components.
Students, faculty and staff must be fully vaccinated to return to campus in the fall.
The email states that officials will resume all on-campus research activities – which include starting new research projects, opening research facilities and allowing researchers to begin to return in person.
The University will also offer “limited programming” for study abroad opportunities in the fall, according to the email. Study abroad programs have been suspended since the pandemic’s outbreak last March.
As part of other announcements regarding reopening progress, officials said students with campus access can now access Gelman and VSTC libraries without a seat reservation. They said Gelman will resume 24-hour operations Aug. 30, and Eckles Library will reopen in the fall with hours from noon to midnight on weekdays and Sunday and noon to 6 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
The email states officials are still finalizing fall reopening plans for the Himmelfarb Health Sciences and Jacob Burns Law libraries.
The University will host orientation for incoming freshmen starting Aug. 22, according to the email. Officials will host a “unique welcome experience” for sophomores and International Student Orientation starting Aug. 24, the email states.
