Fairmont State University is modifying the academic calendar for the 2020-2021 Academic Year to help us anticipate possible complications (or resurgence of) with COVID-19. The University is trying to anticipate the possible spikes in cases in the fall as the CDC has projected. To help the campus stay safe and healthy we have modified our traditional calendar so that we can come back face-to-face for our Fall and Spring semesters.
Our Fall 2020 semester will begin August 10, 2020 and classes will end November 13, 2020, with final exam week November 16-20, 2020. We have scheduled fall commencement for the weekend of November 21-22, 2020. This term is now a 15-week semester with two 7-week terms, which meets all of the accreditation standards. This will also allow students the opportunity to return home with no need to return until Spring semester. The model chosen by the University allows us to keep the original meeting times and days without having to extend class times or utilize Saturdays for classes.
This also allows Fairmont State a unique opportunity to have a Winter Term. Winter Term will be a five-week term fully online. Students will be able to take one course. This is a wonderful opportunity to catch up on a class the student may not have been able to get in the Fall or take a course to get ahead before Spring. This is also a change for students to take an internship or work on field experience. Winter Term will run November 30, 2020 to January 6, 2021, with Christmas and New Year’s Day off.
Spring 2021 semester will begin on January 11, 2021 and classes will end on April 19, 2021, with final exams the week of April 20-23, 2021. Spring commencement has been scheduled for the weekend of April 24-25, 2021. This will model the Fall schedule in that it will be a 15-week semester with two 7-week sessions. With this condensed schedule, there will not be a Spring Break this academic year to allow students to return home earlier for summer.
These changes have been put in place to help us contain possible spikes in Coronavirus on campus by allowing students to leave for breaks and not returning to campus. The University will observe Martin Luther King, Jr. Day as one of the days used during the Winter closing and the Spring Day will be used in conjunction with Memorial Day to give staff an even longer holiday weekend.
