Dear Doane Community,
Our plan to return to our campuses this fall will require a number of changes in order to operate as safely as possible in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. These changes will be communicated to you throughout the summer as decisions are finalized, so please monitor your email for important updates.
One of the first important updates that I would like to share is a change to this fall’s academic calendar for our Crete campus. The academic calendar for the Crete campus will have the following adjustments:
- Classes will be in session on Monday, September 7 (Labor Day) *
- Classes will be in session on Friday, October 16, Monday, October 19, and Tuesday, October 20 (originally planned as Fall Break)
- Final exams will be scheduled to occur from Sat, November 21 to Wed, November 25
- The fall semester will end on Wednesday, November 25. This will be the final day of courses/examinations. There will be no classes on the Crete campus after Thanksgiving break in any modality.
The fall semester will still begin Monday, August 17 on the Crete campus, as originally planned.
The implementation of these changes to the academic calendar for students on the Crete campus ensures that the health and wellness of our community is a top priority. It has been shown that travel can enhance the risk of someone contracting COVID-19. One way to mitigate the spread of the virus during the fall semester is for students not to leave and return from breaks. By eliminating breaks, we can prevent hundreds of our students from leaving and returning to campus within the same time period. This will, in turn, put the university in a better position to operate safely and maintain the health and wellness of our students, faculty, and staff.
We also recognize that the winter has the potential to be a challenging time for individuals to stay healthy with the Coronavirus and Influenza both posing a threat. Although it is not ideal to eliminate days off on Labor Day and Fall Break, we hope our students and faculty will understand and appreciate an extended winter break, which will now be over 7 weeks in length with the spring semester courses scheduled to begin on January 18, 2021.
Although the fall semester will be ending sooner than originally scheduled for our Crete campus, please know that the integrity of the courses and learning will remain the same and meet all standards as required by our accreditation with the Higher Learning Commission.
More details will come in the near future from residence life on move-in and move-out plans for our Crete students and from academic affairs on course modality.
While there are some slight adjustments being made to the academic calendar on the Crete campus, there are NO CHANGES made to the academic calendar for our non-residential students for the Lincoln and Omaha campuses, and online programs. The Autumn term will begin on Monday, August 17 and there will be no classes on Labor Day (September 7). The Autumn term ends on Saturday, October 10 and the Winter term begins on Monday, October 12. The Winter term will end Saturday, December 12.
Similarly, the academic calendar for Graduate Studies in Education will also have NO CHANGES.
We are very excited to welcome everyone back to our campuses later this summer and we will be doing so as safely as possible. I ask for your patience as more details will be shared as they become available. Please visit our COVID-19 webpage for more information and updates as it relates to fall planning.
Sincerely,
Dr. Paul Savory
Provost, Doane University
* More information will be coming from HR regarding the Labor Day holiday for employees.