Message for Our Students: Fall 2020

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The University is preparing now to welcome you all back to campus next month for fall 2020 classes. As part of University efforts to maximize the safety of the environment for our students, adjustments are being made to fall 2020 class schedules. Some classes will be transitioned to remote delivery, and others will be relocated to new, larger rooms to allow for physical distancing between students. As a result, over the upcoming weeks students may see changes in their current schedule in SOAR to reflect these adjustments.

The Academic Calendar has been adjusted as well at Southern Miss, where classes will begin August 17, 2020 and conclude the week of Thanksgiving.  Students should keep in mind three different types of classes that they may have this fall:

• In-person
  Classes that meet physically in-person on campus, with distancing between students
• Online
  Classes that are hosted remotely through Canvas; these classes may have synchronous meetings that require all students to log in at the same time to meet  as a group, or they may be fully asynchronous, in which students are not required to come together at the same time for full class meetings.
• Hybrid
  Classes that combine some face-to-face meetings with remote learning. For example, a class might meet one day each week rather than two and require students to listen to a second lecture online and complete work remotely on their own. Other classes may have alternate day attendance, where half the class attends one day and the other half attends the second day; in that case, all students would have access to course materials online.

All classes will place key course materials and information in Canvas, and faculty will host student office hours throughout the semester through Microsoft Teams, Zoom, or WebEx, all accessible through Canvas. Students should log in to Canvas at the start of the semester to review the specific policies and plans for each of their courses and talk with their professors about the semester ahead.

For face-to-face meetings and classes, protective masks and distancing will be required.  Clinical experiences, performances/applied study, student research activity and service learning will continue – following State and CDC guidelines.  Performances, guest lectures, service learning and other enrichment activities may be delivered virtually but will not be cancelled unless activities create risk for participants. 

Our international students will meet their residency requirements through a combination of face-to-face and hybrid course offerings. Residence halls, dining services, student activities and other support services are scheduled to be fully operational under the new Covid-19 protocols. More details will soon be forthcoming, so please remember to check your email for updates. 

A college campus is a special place when students are here, and we have missed our time with you. We look forward to seeing all of our returning students and meeting all of our new Golden Eagles in August!

Steven R. Moser
Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs

Dee Dee Anderson
Vice President for Student Affairs