Academic Calendar

William & Mary will shift to three semesters for academic year 2020-2021: an accelerated fall semester, plus spring and summer semesters. We will have no fall break. The university’s goal is to prioritize safety while offering as much in-person instruction as possible.

The fall semester for undergraduates, Graduate Arts & Sciences, VIMS and School of Education will begin one week early on Aug. 19 and end before Thanksgiving. There will be no in-person instruction until after Labor Day. There will be no fall break. The last day of classes will be Nov. 13, and final exams will take place Nov. 16-24. Students will move out of residence halls Nov. 25. Grades are due Dec. 7. Additional program schedules will be announced soon.

Due to the compressed schedule, five extra instructional days will be added. Delivery options include Saturday, evening or online sessions. Each course syllabus will note how and when the extra sessions will be delivered.

Important Dates Related to Fall Courses

• July 15 – courses will have been assigned attributes in Banner designating course delivery categories. It will be updated on the Open Course List. **Not all courses will be available online. Students may need to adjust their schedule if they wish to take all of their courses remotely. No special permission is needed to take courses online
• Week of August 3 – Continuing students can make changes to their schedule based on updated course offerings and modalities
• August 18 – Add/Drop is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.
• August 19 – Classes begin remotely
• September 4 - Classes designated as in-person begin

Note: Students are limited to registering for 16 credits until add/drop begins.

Summer Semester

William & Mary will offer a summer semester as part of the 2020-2021 academic year so that both students and faculty may distribute their course loads in light of their individual circumstances and needs.

Summer semester 2021 will include courses not offered during fall or spring, complementing and expanding current programs and providing unique programs, such as the new Jump Start Data Science Program and the Summer Business Institute.

Each school will determine its summer courses, partnering with the provost to ensure that summer 2021 represents a comprehensive semester. More details will be announced in the spring.

In most cases, financial aid is intended to cover two semesters. For the 2020-2021 academic year, students may apply their aid to any two of the three available semesters (fall, spring and summer) as long as they maintain the enrollment level necessary to be eligible.

William & Mary intends to award financial aid for two full-time semesters of aid to qualifying undergraduates. William & Mary requires students to be enrolled full-time to receive grant aid, except in very limited underload situations approved by the Dean of Students Office, which would be prorated. Students considering the use of loans for anything less than a full-time semester should consult with their financial aid counselors.

To the extent that any student's cost of attendance changes as a result of electing a fully remote curriculum, eligibility for financial aid may be reduced accordingly.

Learning Spaces

To protect the health of the William & Mary community, classrooms and learning spaces will be modified in the fall. Students, faculty and staff will be required to wear face coverings indoors and will be provided masks in a kit provided by William & Mary. Students will be responsible for cleaning class desk space before and after use.

Classes with fewer people may be held in larger spaces to maintain at least six feet between participants, while those with large numbers of students may be held remotely or in smaller groups. Hand sanitation stations will be placed across campus and new signage displayed. Classrooms and public spaces will be cleaned on an accelerated schedule, consistent with CDC and VDH guidelines. 

William & Mary is also planning to use non-traditional space for classes, including outdoor canopies, available conference rooms and the like. The university will also designate traffic patterns for the spaces, including entrances and exits, and may utilize real-time technology to track density on campus.

Course Delivery

Led by William & Mary’s deans, each school will choose in-person and blended strategies that support a resilient curriculum and offer flexibility reflecting W&M’s equity imperative — we provide options for community members with different health situations and changing family and financial circumstances. Faculty have been advised to prepare classes in a way that makes it possible to switch to full remote learning on short notice, in the event Virginia public health requires this.

Details of course delivery, including meeting times and remote aspects, will be designated in Banner and outlined in course syllabi. Courses in Banner have been assigned attributes designating course delivery categories in the Open Course List. Not all courses will be available online. Students may need to adjust their schedules if they wish to take all of their courses remotely. No special permission is needed to take courses online. William & Mary is also developing a process for requesting alternate learning arrangements.

In order to empower faculty to create flexible, effective courses for the upcoming fall semester, the Studio for Teaching & Learning Innovation (STLI) has launched a new Blended Learning @ W&M course for faculty. Through this course, faculty will explore different blended teaching and learning strategies that can be adapted to the particular modality they will be utilizing.

• Blended course design provides flexibility for faculty and students as both face-to-face and online learning experiences are blended in course delivery. There are many variations of this model that include sections of varying length of synchronous and/or asynchronous remote instruction coupled with in-person experiences in the classroom. These courses ease switching to remote teaching for both faculty and students, if necessary.

• Modular design allows faculty to prepare syllabus blocks of varying length for in-person and remote delivery. Under this model, only one block would be delivered at a time, but the class would have the option to switch modes if conditions rapidly require it.
• Split attendance allows only one cohort of a course’s students to attend in-person, with the remaining students participating online. Cohorts rotate throughout the semester, allowing all students the opportunity to have in-person instruction.
• Date and time adjustments add class meetings to evenings and Saturdays, so that all cohorts of a class meet in-person each time.
• Partner teaching has faculty members supporting each other in courses with traditionally larger enrollments. In addition to mixing in-person and remote delivery as appropriate, partner teaching provides further flexibility to faculty members’ changing personal or health circumstances.

Banner Categories of Course Delivery

Faculty have assigned course delivery information to our fall classes in Banner. Visit the Registrar's Office for descriptions of high-level categories for course delivery:

• FS: Predominantly face-to-face and predominantly synchronous
• MIX: Blend of in-person instruction with expanded remote delivery of instructional material, content and activity
• RA: Predominantly remote and asynchronous
• RSOC: Predominantly remote and synchronous, on campus
• RSOF: Predominantly remote and synchronous off-campus

Choosing Remote Instruction

By looking up course attributes in Banner, students will be able to craft a fully remote schedule for the fall semester if that is their preference. Not all courses will be available in a fully remote format, so students should seek academic guidance in advance to be sure selected courses support the student’s progress toward their degrees and majors.

W&M’s on-campus residency requirements notwithstanding, any freshman or sophomore student electing a fully-remote curriculum may be released from their campus housing contracts without penalty in order to reside at their permanent home address for the fall semester. Additionally, once your housing contract is cancelled, you can remove your meal plan by visiting https://mealplan.wm.edu and selecting "Drop a Meal Plan." Your student account could take up to 3 business days to be updated. Meal plans may be cancelled up until August 27.

To the extent that any student's cost of attendance changes as a result of electing a fully remote curriculum, eligibility for financial aid may be reduced accordingly.

The following people are available for consultation and referral as needed:

• Undergraduates: Shelly Laurenzo, Office of Academic Advising
• Graduate School of A&S: Chasity Roberts, Assistant to the Dean
• Graduate School of Education: Jim Barber for returning students, Dot Osborne for new students
• Other graduate schools: Contact the school registrar

Student Accommodations

William & Mary students who need accessibility accommodations to fully participate in the fall semester, in campus housing, curricular offerings, or other areas, should contact the Office of Student Accessibility Services. Staff members in that office are experienced in supporting students who have accessibility needs, including students who are immunocompromised. We will work with students. and their faculty members as appropriate, to promote their success this fall.

Wellness in the Classroom

William & Mary is exploring a number of ways to mitigate the stresses of teaching and learning during a global pandemic. These initiatives include limits on course overloads with a process for approving exceptions, curriculum changes, empowering units to partner with students to develop guidelines for reducing stress, developing new ways to strengthen community through academic programs and promoting increased accountability for one another’s health.

COVID-19 Testing Before Arriving

All students are required to test for COVID-19 before the fall semester. Students will receive a self-administered, mail-in test kit prior to coming to campus. Self-quarantine and testing schedules will be updated to reflect new return dates for sophomores, juniors and seniors, who are expected back on campus in early September.

Community members who test positive for COVID-19 must self-isolate at home or off campus until they have a confirmed negative test. Students who test positive will be mailed a retest approximately 10 days following the initial positive result.

Prevalence testing (initial sampling of 5% of the student body and 2% of the employee/contractor population) will occur at least every two weeks. Testing frequency and population percentage will evolve based on campus trends and available testing methods.

Students who experience symptoms over the course of the semester should make an appointment with the Student Health Center for a clinical assessment and testing if necessary. The Student Health Center will provide instructions on necessary next steps.

FAQ: Off-campus COVID-19 Testing

When will I receive my test?

Kits are being shipped on a rolling schedule based on move-in date, and you will likely receive them about 10 days before your move-in date. A shipment notification email will be sent when your kit ships and there will be a tracking number in the Kallaco app. If you are not set to live in university housing, your kit will ship in time to be returned and processed prior to the start of classes.

Do students living on and off campus need to take the test?

Yes, all registered students, taking classes both in-person and online need to take their test off campus and return via FedEx.

Can I go to another provider to take a test and give you a receipt as proof of test?

No. All tests must be self-administered through the Kallaco kit.

If I am an international student, how do I get my kit?

When asked in the Kallaco app where to send your test, you should put the U.S. address where you will be quarantining prior to coming to campus.

What if I am traveling when my kit is supposed to arrive?

Your kit may sit after being received but needs to be mailed to the lab 5 days prior to returning to campus.

I received my kit and my arrival date has shifted. What should I do?

Please just hold onto the kit for now. Your kit may sit after being received but needs to be mailed to the lab 5 days prior to returning to campus. We will communicate soon to those returning to campus at a date later than originally planned.

May I participate in activities on campus, including research, if I do not have my results and I’m not living on campus?

No. You are not permitted to be on campus until you have received a negative test result.

Do I have to register with Kallaco?

A kit will not ship until you register in the Kallaco portal. It only takes a minute and you can do it by phone.

I received an error when trying to register for Kallaco. What do I do?

Kallaco has enabled account resets using “forgot password” instead of the PIN process. If you received an error when trying your PIN, you may now enter your W&M email address and follow the “forgot password” instructions.

What if my kit arrives damaged?

If you receive a damaged or incomplete kit, please message [[COVIDresponse]] and a new kit will be shipped to you.

What does it mean if I see “Rejected” in the app by my test?

Very infrequently, the lab is unable to process a specimen. This can happen because of shipping damage, inadequate collection, or a variety of other reasons. If this happens, you will automatically be shipped a new test kit. You should receive notification when it ships.

When I enter the barcode into the system, the code is already taken. Can I still see my results?

Yes, you should still be able to view your results. William & Mary is investigating this issue.

What if my test results come back positive?

Community members who test positive for COVID-19 must self-isolate at home or off campus until they have a confirmed negative test. Students who test positive will be mailed a new test 10 days following the initial positive result.

How did William & Mary choose Kallaco?

Kallaco’s founders have a long history in software development and the healthcare space. One of the many reasons William & Mary selected Kallaco as a partner is their relationship with a robust network of national labs. Together with VCU Health System, we are confident Kallaco will help execute William & Mary’s decisions around COVID-19 testing in advance of the students’ return to campus as well as continued testing after our community has returned.

Did William & Mary evaluate the security of the Kallaco testing platform?

William & Mary conducts a formal security review process within Information Technology, against which all enterprise applications are evaluated. The university’s chief information security officer completed that privacy policy review of Kallaco, which is an information distribution portal facilitating the testing process, and is in frequent communication with the vendor to ensure that student and employee data is securely stored and privacy protected. W&M’s university counsel and procurement offices also made sure our contract reflected William & Mary's commitment to privacy and appropriate data use.

Self-Quarantine Before Arriving

All domestic students are expected to self-quarantine for eight days before arriving on-campus; students coming from international destinations must self-quarantine per CDC guidelines (currently 14 days). Quarantine may occur anywhere the student feels most comfortable, e.g. at home with family, at an apartment, at a hotel, etc. When traveling to Williamsburg, all students should practice prevention to mitigate risks of contracting COVID-19, such as wearing a face covering, maintaining physical distance and washing hands often. Traveling to Williamsburg does not require a student to “reset” the quarantine clock upon arrival, as long as they quarantined for the appropriate time and practiced transmission prevention during travel.

Self-quarantine and testing schedules will be updated to reflect new return dates for sophomores, juniors and seniors, who are expected back on campus in early September.

Campus Living

We will slow the pace of student return to campus through August, to Labor Day Weekend, so as to minimize density and reduce circulation on/off campus. The following groups of students are not affected by the adjustment.

• New students (freshmen and transfers)
• Graduate students residing in university housing
• International Students
• RAs and Head Residents
• Orientation Aides and Assistants

All other students should delay their return to campus. We anticipate bringing sophomores and upperclassmen back to campus during and after Labor Day weekend. Room and board costs will be adjusted accordingly.

Student Affairs will consider exceptions for students who have extenuating or special personal circumstances for returning to campus as part of the initial group in August. Please contact [[care]] for assistance. Documentation may be required.

Each student planning to live on campus will be required to sign an addendum to the housing contract that includes a Residence Life Health and Well-Being Pledge. Compliance with the expectations and commitments outlined in the contract addendum and pledge once students are on campus will be critical for the ongoing operation of the residence halls.

Living Spaces

W&M’s housing plan reduces residential density and establishes a number of community expectations targeting our shared responsibility of maintaining health and safety:

• W&M will consider roommates, suitemates and apartment-mates to be Flexible Family Units.
• W&M will set clear guidelines regarding sharing of bedrooms, bathrooms and other common living spaces.
• W&M is increasing the distance from 30 miles to 60 miles for students who live locally and may wish to consider commuting from home.
• W&M will hold space in Richmond Hall to address a potential need for quarantine or isolation housing. Active cases within the student population will be monitored through the Student Health Center under guidance from the medical director.
• W&M is increasing cleaning in high-touch locations, such as bathrooms and doors.

Residential Quarantine or Isolation

Widespread and periodic testing of symptomatic and asymptomatic students will mean that at any given point in time, a number of William & Mary community members will be awaiting test results. Isolation of asymptomatic individuals awaiting test results is not recommended by public health authorities; they should continue the universal precautions and protocols that are expected of W&M’s community, remaining in their residences. In other words, asymptomatic students will await test results wherever they live.

Symptomatic individuals awaiting test results will need to self-quarantine, rather than remain in their assigned residence halls. Those students may choose temporary housing in Richmond Hall, which has been identified as suitable for isolation (with separate, exterior room doors, individual bathrooms, etc.) Students may also opt to return to their permanent homes or families as they await results.

Richmond Hall is also identified for housing any on-campus students with a positive COVID-19 diagnosis. Active cases within the student population will be monitored through the Student Health Center under guidance from the Center's medical director. Faculty will work with students isolating in Richmond Hall to ensure flexibility for completing course work. Meals will be delivered to students in isolation in Richmond Hall.

Student Accommodations

William & Mary students who need accessibility accommodations to fully participate in the fall semester, in campus housing, curricular offerings, or other areas, should contact the Office of Student Accessibility Services. Staff members in that office are experienced in supporting students who have accessibility needs, including students who are immunocompromised. We will work with students. and their faculty members as appropriate, to promote their success this fall.

New Student Orientation

William & Mary looks forward to welcoming all new students to campus in August. On July 15, Student Affairs emailed detailed plans for check-in and new student orientation. This year's student orientation will emphasize a community-wide commitment to promoting health and mitigating the risk of spreading COVID-19. In accordance with public health guidelines, William & Mary is adapting the orientation program and schedules. Undergraduate freshman and transfer students should watch for email updates and visit First Year Experience. New graduate students will receive communication from their schools and programs. We stand ready to help new students and families prepare for this exciting transition.

Dining

William & Mary Dining is working closely with the university’s dining partner to follow restaurant guidelines administered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Virginia Department of Health in the fall. Additional safety measures for Campus Dining were detailed in a recent message from the COVID-19 Response Team, and for more information on meal plans, visit www.wm.edu/dining.

The deadline for residential undergraduate students to select a meal plan was July 8. Those who did not make a selection by that date were automatically enrolled in the Gold 19 plan. Dining options may largely be take-away, with a reduction of self-service in the dining hall and adoption of touchless payment. Seating will be reduced or re-arranged in some dining areas, hours adjusted and food truck use increased but relocated to reduce gathering large numbers of community members at one time. Hand sanitation stations will be placed across campus and new signage displayed.

Students electing a fully-remote curriculum who are released from their campus housing contracts can remove their meal plan by visiting https://mealplan.wm.edu and selecting "Drop a Meal Plan." Student accounts could take up to 3 business days to be updated. Meal plans may be cancelled up until August 27.

Athletics

William & Mary stands fully in support of the Colonial Athletic Association Football Board of Directors' decision to postpone conference competition for the fall 2020 football season. The university also made the difficult decision to postpone competition in all Division I Fall sports including football, soccer, field hockey, volleyball and cross-country.

The health and well-being of our student-athletes, coaches and staff – and the full campus community that supports them – must be our top priority. W&M Athletics is part of the overall educational mission of the university. Providing an environment that ensures the greatest opportunity for academic instruction to occur for all students is paramount. Thus, the university's philosophy for the fall is to radically limit visitors to campus – and that includes visiting athletic teams.

While we are heartbroken for the student-athletes and their families impacted, we have been thoughtful and deliberate in our discussions and decision. It is our hope and intention that if conditions safely permit, sports could be played in the winter and spring and we will evaluate the options in the months ahead.

Find the latest information on the W&M Athletics website.

Club Sports & Intramurals

The health and well-being of the full campus community is our top priority this fall. In light of pandemic-related health risks as well as restrictions on university-sponsored travel and on visitors to campus, including athletic teams, we have made the difficult decision not to have our sport club teams compete this fall. The staff in Campus Recreation is working with club team leaders to develop plans for practices and training where that can be done within our public health guidelines for social distancing and mask wearing. Knowing that students will want to be active and to enjoy the social interactions that come with intramurals, we are adapting our offerings this fall. Our focus will be on activities and tournaments that can occur within the public health guidelines -- examples include tennis tournaments, pickleball, e-sports, 3-point shooting competitions and fitness challenges.

For Students Unable to Return

William & Mary is committed to flexibility in accommodating students who are either unable to return to campus or have compelling reasons not to be on campus for the fall.

Newly admitted undergraduates, both first-year and transfer, are advised to contact Undergraduate Admission. Returning undergraduate students seeking a leave of absence for the fall should contact the Dean of Students Office. International students — especially those in countries affected by travel limitations — should explore immigration and possible local in-country study options through the Reves Center for International Studies. Graduate and professional students are encouraged to work directly with their schools or programs.

Events & Campus Gatherings

The intentional work of creating community and cultivating deep human connections is front of mind for William & Mary. Campus events are a traditional building block of community; they will continue to be, albeit shifted in light of ongoing health needs in the community. Our campus has the ability to embrace and sustain the kinds of changes that learning together under pandemic will require. 

Gatherings
Campus gatherings, including university, school, department and student events and meetings will be subject to safety guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Virginia Department of Health and the governor of Virginia. Current guidance limits campus gatherings, both indoor and outdoor, to 50 people, so long as physical distancing can be maintained.

For the fall, events at William & Mary that can be postponed until the spring are advised to do so, as departments and groups focus on programs and activities supporting the teaching and research mission. Virtual gatherings, a blended model and multiple sessions expand options for gathering safely. Additionally, public access and programming is expected to be limited and seating assigned or ticketed. Campus remains closed to the public.

Traditions
We love our William & Mary traditions. We will continue to take a "joyful and different" approach to them, no matter what COVID-19 restrictions may require. Students at William & Mary in the fall will likely co-create new approaches to our traditions, adaptations which may carry forward for "all time coming."

Family Weekend 2020 will be re-imagined as a fully virtual event over September 25-27, 2020. Please check email, social media and the Family Weekend website as the summer progresses.

Our goal is to host a grand celebration in May 2021 for the Class of 2020, with all the joy and the cherished traditions that make W&M Commencements special. We are considering the optimal timing, keeping in mind that the Classes of 2020 and 2021 will each have their own ceremonies and celebrations. The university will announce exact dates in a few weeks so families can plan accordingly. Detailed information about the schedule of Commencement events will be shared early in the spring semester.

After thoughtful consideration, deliberation and consultation with the William & Mary Alumni Association Board of Directors, the university has made the difficult decision to forgo hosting Homecoming & Reunion Weekend in person this year. W&M is moving elements of Homecoming weekend online and will postpone others. Plans continue to develop, but key components of the weekend, including the Sunset Ceremony, will take place virtually. The Alumni House dedication will move to 2021, and W&M is working to ensure that reunion classes have an opportunity to celebrate together. Updates will be posted on the Homecoming & Reunion Weekend website.

Invited Speakers
To minimize travel and further limit the spread of COVID-19, speakers invited to William & Mary in the fall will appear in a virtual format. This policy extends to speakers invited university-wide as well as those invited by a school, department, specific course or student group. 

Co-curricular Activities
W&M is committed to supporting student activities and co-curricular life as best we can under pandemic conditions. Student Affairs staff, together with student leaders, will develop guidelines for safe gatherings and meetings. There will be health and safety modifications to co-curricular life, just as to life in residence halls and in classroom and laboratory experiences. In the coming weeks, William & Mary will communicate additional details about what to expect this fall.

Athletics
William & Mary stands fully in support of the Colonial Athletic Association Football Board of Directors' decision to postpone conference competition for the fall 2020 football season. The university also made the difficult decision to postpone competition in all Division I Fall sports including football, soccer, field hockey, volleyball and cross-country.

The health and well-being of our student-athletes, coaches and staff – and the full campus community that supports them – must be our top priority. W&M Athletics is part of the overall educational mission of the university. Providing an environment that ensures the greatest opportunity for academic instruction to occur for all students is paramount. Thus, the university's philosophy for the fall is to radically limit visitors to campus – and that includes visiting athletic teams.

While we are heartbroken for the student-athletes and their families impacted, we have been thoughtful and deliberate in our discussions and decision. It is our hope and intention that if conditions safely permit, sports could be played in the winter and spring and we will evaluate the options in the months ahead.

Find the latest information on the W&M Athletics website.

Calls to Service

A team at William & Mary dedicated to facilitating service projects for the Path Forward generated more than 130 ideas in a short time, reflecting how deeply rooted is a commitment to caring for others and our community at the university. The team identified projects that would have wide appeal to the entire W&M community, addressed needs of vulnerable populations, built on the university’s strengths and would have immediate, measurable impact. 

Community Commitment
All members of this community are expected to commit to specific safeguards for one another’s health. We will call each other in: to these shared commitments and to awareness of vulnerabilities that may be hard to see. Because we respect and value one another's different contributions to W&M’s mission, when we lapse, we will immediately correct our course with goodwill and renewed dedication.

Experiential Learning
William & Mary is pursuing experiential learning and service opportunities for every student. The university is developing an integrated program to address questions of inequity under pandemic. This includes a new credit-bearing (up to 3 credits), omnibus course, open to all schools, that will enable each student to engage in creative, pragmatic problem-solving for our community and region.

Immediate Service Opportunities

• In-person support for community response to COVID-19 and inequity
• Remote service opportunities curated by the Office of Community Engagement
• Local business support through CrimDell Small Business Network

Opportunities in Development

• An online platform to facilitate connections to service and experiential learning opportunities
• Internships with local community organizations 
• Pandemic adaptation service opportunities for our campus community and beyond, for example students training to be contact-tracers through the Virginia Department of Health and virtually by Johns Hopkins
• Connecting W&M talent and resources to local community needs through expanded partnerships

Supporting Our City

• Limit attendance to athletics and other campus events while adding virtual participation
• Adjust visiting hours, suspending or converting programming at cultural and arts venues to virtual delivery
• Aligning with city planning and guidelines

Career Pathways

William & Mary is acutely aware of the economic, social and health challenges facing students graduating into a landscape deeply affected by the novel coronavirus pandemic. In response, a planning team has been formed to accelerate success for our graduates. The team is working to elevate experiential learning for all students and promote design thinking over the course of a student’s life. Other ideas being pursued include a W&M professional development bootcamp and promoting a “One W&M” initiative that features the university’s talents, cultivates research opportunities and embraces lifelong learning.

International Students & Scholars

William & Mary and the Reves Center for International Studies are committed to supporting international students and scholars during this pandemic. Detailed information and answers to common questions are available on the Reves Center website.