Dear Students,
I am writing to provide you with a few informational items as we all prepare for the Fall semester. We are very much looking forward to seeing you in August, when we resume on-campus classes. Our top priority is to ensure you have an excellent education in a safe living and learning environment. To meet that goal, we are modifying how we conduct classes, and some of these modifications may require us to change your schedule.
Classes will start August 24 as scheduled. This coming semester, we are adjusting the academic calendar so that the on-campus portion of the coursework will wrap up by Thanksgiving break. After the Thanksgiving break, all remaining instruction, as well as all final projects and exams, will be completed via remote teaching and learning. This modified calendar will help us protect our community in the event that, later in the year, the number of people with COVID-19 increases at the same time that the seasonal flu returns.
We will deliver courses, through all majors and programs, in various modalities. Those modalities range from on-campus interactions with modified seating, to hybrid personalized instruction with alternate activities and attendance rotations, to online courses. Our faculty, staff, and administrators have worked diligently to smooth the transition to “a new college experience” with academic excellence and safety at its core.
In whatever modality you will receive instruction this Fall, it is vital that we provide you with the Ball State experience and culture, where our students and faculty are learning partners from day one. That experience includes providing you access to talented professors and professionals, often through personalized interactions, and the resources you need for success.
Our team will notify you by email of specific scheduling changes in July. You may direct questions or concerns about any adjustments in your schedule to your advisor. You can look up your advisor by following step-by-step instructions on the Academic Advising website. If you have other questions about Ball State’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, I invite you to visit bsu.edu/coronavirus. There, you will find resources for students and families, including answers to frequently asked questions.
Thank you for your patience as we created the best path forward for you and your professors. We understand this unprecedented situation may have caused challenges and uncertainty for you and your family, and we will help you work through them.
As with our preparations for the Fall semester, we will continue to examine best practices, lessons learned from other universities and our own experiences, and students’ and faculty’s feedback. We will also continue to consult health and safety guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Governor Holcomb’s mandates, and health care professionals.
Our success in keeping you safe depends on staying true to our University’s enduring values, which include social responsibility. In fact, the only way we can make a safe return to campus possible is for you and for everyone else—students, faculty, staff, and visitors—to take responsibility to care for ourselves, for our fellow Cardinals, and for our campus and community. You can find health and safety protocols, including guidance about face masks and face shields, in our Return to Campus Plan for Students. Your and our wellbeing is of paramount importance. Thank you for doing your part.
Together, we will thrive through the current challenge and emerge stronger.
