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Dear Students,

I hope you are enjoying a restful summer. I am writing to share a brief update about the Fall 2026 Academic Calendar.

As students travel longer distances to join the Villanova community, a desire for greater flexibility around Thanksgiving to maximize time with family and friends has been discussed. Faculty have observed significant student absences during Thanksgiving week, often resulting in a need to cancel classes. This creates challenges to ensure learning goals and expectations for instructional time are met.

To help reduce course absences and cancellations, all undergraduate, graduate, and professional education classes on Monday, November 23, and Tuesday, November 24 will meet in a fully online format. Law School classes will continue to meet in person.

Faculty will determine whether sessions are synchronous or asynchronous and will communicate the schedule on the syllabus. Please note that this is a pilot for Fall 2026, after which students and faculty will be surveyed for feedback to inform future decisions. This change is not intended to extend the break or shift absences to the preceding week. Students may participate in their online classes and remain on campus until the residence halls close on Wednesday, November 25 at noon. 

Thank you for your continued flexibility and support as we work to continually enhance the Villanova experience for our students and faculty.

Sincerely,

Christine Kelleher Palus, PhD
Senior Vice Provost for Academics