The COVID-19 pandemic has caused many colleges to reevaluate opening for the fall. BGSU is undergoing extreme protocol changes for the upcoming 2020-2021 school year, while following guidelines provided by the Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention, as well as the Ohio Department of Health.
The university has changed the academic calendar to better prepare for the impact of COVID-19. The fall semester will now start on Aug. 26 and in-person classes will end on Nov. 25. The last week of classes will be conducted remotely from Nov. 30- Dec. 4. Finals week will be Dec. 7-11 and will also be conducted online.
Winter session for the 2020-2021 school year has been canceled, and the semester will now begin on Jan. 11, 2021 and end on April 30, 2021.
Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs, Joe Whitehead, released a statement about the new course delivery. BGSU will offer classes in three modes of delivery: hybrid, remote and online. This will help maintain physical distancing standards and enhance safety precautions.
Hybrid classes will be a blend of in-person and online. This means classes will have virtual lectures during a scheduled meeting time one day of the week and professors will meet face-to-face with students in smaller groups the remainder of the week. Hybrid classes will be held in rooms that will allow for social distancing.
At the virtual town hall meeting on June 30, President Rodney Rodgers said, “Over 70% of classes are planned to be in a face-to-face, technology-infused hybrid approach.”
Remote classes will meet online during scheduled days and times. These classes could be conducted via WebEx.
Online classes do not have specific meeting times and can be more flexible. Only classes that are specifically designed for an online format will be offered this delivery mode.
BGSU is continuing to finalize the course schedule for the fall and want to provide students with safety measures for their return to campus.
