In conjunction with the Office of the Provost, Saint Joseph’s University and President Mark Reed announced on April 1st that the University will be “able to significantly expand our on-ground course and operations for the fall of 2021” in a schoolwide email announcement. This announcement is coming off of a scheduling nightmare of a year and a half of academic courses. In March of 2020, the University decided to hold the remainder of the academic year virtually from home, through the power of Zoom. This was followed by a hybrid format for the 2020-2021 year, with mandatory mask wearing for the limited classes offered on campus.
President Reed is promising that the majority of in-person classes will return to being offered by the registrar. The University announcement including a list of things that will be returning to normal, such as:
- Full weeklong fall and spring breaks
- Likely return of some study abroad trips
- Increase in club sport and intramural activities
- Reduced physical distancing requirements
- Increased student activities and events
As for students, then announcement comes after spending the last 3 semesters either entirely virtual schooling or a form of hybrid teaching. We ran a poll on HawkChill Instagram for students to ask what their comfort levels with going back to fully in person teaching. After gathering the results 32 people said yes they feel comfortable going back into the class room next semester and 6 people said no they are not comfortable going back into the classrooms next semester.
