Mercer University, Georgia College and Emory University have all announced revised academic calendars for the fall semester in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
All three campuses are looking to go back in the fall with specific guidelines in places to keep faculty, staff and students safe.
MERCER UNIVERSITY
According to a release from Mercer University, the semester will start Aug. 18 on the Macon campus and classes will be held on previously observed holidays like Labor Day and fall break.
The first day of classes for the Atlanta campus and the Regional Academic Centers is Aug. 17.
The School of Medicine, School of Law and programs offered entirely online will have slightly different calendars that will be told to students enrolled in those programs.
The calendar will reduce travel-associated breaks and meet accreditation-mandated contact hours per credit hour requirements, according to the release.
The last day of classes for the fall term will be Nov. 24 and final exams will be administered online on Dec. 3-4 and Dec. 7-9. Students will not go back to campus until Jan. 7, 2021.
GEORGIA COLLEGE
Georgia College is set to start the fall semester on Aug. 12 with fall break taken off the original calendar.
The health and safety of faculty, staff and students is the main concern for the school, according to a release from Georgia College.
The last day of classes will be November 24 and final exams will begin December 1 after Thanksgiving break. They will be administered online.
In the release, it says the goal of these changes is to ensure learning continues while limiting the potential spread of COVID-19 by reducing travel to and from campus.
EMORY UNIVERSITY
Emory said they plan to offer both online and in-person classes, giving students the option.
In a letter to faculty, staff and students, President Claire Sterk and President-elect Gregory Fenves say they have plans in place for every scenario.
"We have made decisions on which we are confident we can deliver, including contingency plans for various scenarios, and that allow us to best serve the academic needs of our students," said Sterk and Fenves in the letter
The academic calendar will start on August 19, with classes ending by Thanksgiving and exams being conducted remotely.
Residence halls will also be open, but with no more than two students per room.
COVID-19 testing will be mandatory for all students taking in-person classes and for those living in the residence halls, according to the letter. Faculty and staff will have access to testing "on demand."
"It will be a different kind of semester, one filled with changes and choices, with new ways to connect and build relationships," the letter said.
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