Lindenwood will begin the spring 2021 semester Jan. 19, with an elimination of spring break and changes to current visitation guidelines.   

Terry Whittum, senior vice president of Enrollment Management and Student Engagement, made the announcement on Thursday morning to Lindenwood students in an email that discussed the new plans. 

One change to next semester’s calendar will be no spring break for students. 

“The spring academic calendar is being adjusted and classes will begin on Tuesday, January 19,” the email read. “Spring break has been eliminated from the calendar to reduce travel away from campus.”

The email also stated that there will be no classes on Good Friday, April 2, and the semester will conclude on May 7.

Lindenwood will make a decision on March 1 regarding spring commencement ceremonies. 

Like the fall 2020 semester, next spring will begin with classes online for the first two weeks, except for lab, studio, and other experiential courses that will meet in person. 

“The first two weeks of lecture courses for Spring 2021 semester will be conducted in a virtual format,” the email read. “Labs, studio courses, and other experiential courses may require in-person attendance. Faculty will communicate with students in advance about the specifics of class delivery.”

Many courses will continue to be offered in a hybrid format, where some enrolled students attend in person and the rest attend virtually. Students will still have the option to attend hybrid classes online-only if they choose. 

“Rotations [of students] will be determined by faculty based on classroom capacity for each course. Any student wishing to complete a hybrid class entirely online will be able to,” the email read.

Faculty will not be required to hold in-person office hours during the semester. The email stated that students should plan to conduct most meetings with academic advisers and faculty virtually. 

There will be changes to the current housing and visitation policies. This semester, all students were given the option to live off-campus due to COVID-19. This offer will not extend into the spring 2021 semester, according to the email. 

“Lindenwood has reviewed the residential requirement status for Spring 2021 and will not approve requests to move off-campus for the spring term,” the email read. 

Due to “positive results based on student behavior,” visitation hour restrictions will be lifted, with 24-hour visitation to resume again in upper-class residence halls.  

“All upper-class residence halls now have 24/7 visitation hours. First-year residence halls in The Pride (Flowers, Mathews, Pfremmer and Reynolds) visitation hours remain 12 p.m. – 12 a.m. Monday – Thursday. 24- hour visitation is allowed from 12 p.m. Friday to 11:59 p.m. Sunday,” the email read. 

However, no outside visitors are permitted and students will still be limited to only one visitor per resident. 

Move-in for the spring semester will begin Jan. 15, and students will be permitted to leave their belongings in their campus residence if they are returning to campus for the spring. 

“All students returning for spring semester can leave their belongings in their residential assignment over the break,” the email read. “Students will be contacted by Student Life to sign up for a time to move into their residential building.”

Students with meal plans will be able to access dining options on campus beginning Saturday, Jan. 16.

Masks will still be required at all times on campus, and students are expected to maintain a physical distance of six feet as well as use the designated entry and exit doors to buildings.