Update on Stay-in-Place

Last night, undergraduate students received an update from campus leadership, including a video from President Price (above). While we are seeing the improvement from the undergraduate community for which we had hoped, the stay-in-place order will remain unchanged through 9 a.m. Sunday, March 21. We remain cautiously optimistic that this pause will help us get through this uptick in COVID-19 cases, but we need the Duke community to stay vigilant. Read the full email, including an update on new case numbers.

Important Dates

March 24 • Last day to withdraw with W from Spring 2021 classes
April 12 • Wellness Day
April 23 • Classes end
April 24-26 • Reading period
April 27-May 1 • Final examinations
May 2 • Graduation exercises *

* Announcement on Commencement Plans
** All dates are subject to change

In Case You Missed It

Care During a Challenging Week

Mary Pat McMahon, vice provost and vice president of student affairs, and Gary Bennett, vice provost of undergraduate education, were among the faculty and administrative leaders who reached out to students to support them during this week. Read more on DukeToday.

Common Quarantine and Isolation Questions

This has certainly been a challenging week on campus. With students in quarantine and isolation (Q/I) having recently reached an all-time high at Duke, we thought it would be valuable to share more information about campus testing and quarantine/isolation, answer common questions, and reinforce the supports your students will receive should they be required to quarantine or isolate. Read more on the Parent and Family Programs blog.

Return from Travel Requirements

As a reminder: students are expected to stay in Durham throughout the semester. Any students who must travel right now must also carefully adhere to return guidance as outlined on the Keep Learning page, including sequestering through two scheduled surveillance tests. Adherence to these return guidelines is crucial to our collective success.

24/7 Mental Telehealth Services

Blue Devils Care provides 24/7 mental telehealth support to all Duke students at no cost! If students are feeling overwhelmed, they will be able to talk to a licensed mental health provider from their device. This service provides on-demand mental health support and gives students a safe space to talk about anything at any time including anxiety, relationships, sadness, isolation and loneliness, and more.

Student Spotlight

As Daniel Sprague ‘21 prepares to graduate from Duke this Spring with a double major in Computer Science and Neuroscience, he reflects on what he accomplished and learned while at Duke. In addition to being part of three research labs over his four years, Daniel is also active in the arts community at Duke, participating in musical theater and acapella. Read more about Daniel on the Duke Research blog.

Vaccines for Students

Duke Health receives our supply of vaccines from the state and continues to experience an incredibly high demand that outpaces doses available. The criteria for eligibility and the amount of vaccine available are both controlled by the State of North Carolina, not Duke University or DukeHealth.

Due to vaccine availability, Duke is still administering vaccines to those recipients in Phases 2 and 3. The university will be incorporating students into the vaccine administration process as supply is available and as Duke works its way through our priority lists. For more information and updates, please visit covidvaccine.duke.edu.

University Updates & Events

Duke Condemns Violence Against Asian and Asian-American Communities

Earlier this month President Price wrote to Duke faculty, staff, and students to condemn violence against and hatred towards Asians, Asian-Americans, and Pacific Islanders in communities across the country. The University continued to share resources for students and statements of condemnation this week.

Applications Open for Duke Immerse

Duke Immerse is a semester-long program in which students take courses that build on a single theme. The program is currently accepting fall 2021 applications for three themes that focus on timely global issues. The programs are open to all Duke undergraduates. More details can be found at the links below:

Governance, Society & Policy (Apply by April 6th)
Imagining the Future of Food (Apply by April 12th)
Pandemics, Health & Power (Apply by April 6th)

Updated FAQs on Keep Learning

Keep Learning continues to be updated with information and updates about the semester. Two recent additions include expanded health guidance information and FAQ sections titled Stay-in-Place Period and Personal Travel. The latter includes the detailed requirements for students returning to campus.

Career Everywhere

To provide state-of-the-art tools for students working toward career readiness, Duke has added Big Interview this year. Big Interview is the top interview training platform in the U.S. and is now available at Duke to combine training AND practice to help students improve interview skills and build confidence.

By fully utilizing Big Interview, students will learn how to answer the most common interview questions. They can practice with questions developed by industry, skills, admissions interviews, or general questions. Finally, students get feedback by sharing recorded responses with you, peers, mentors, or advisers so that they can improve their skills.