Quinnipiac University announced its spring 2021 semester plan, which will include no spring break, continued COVID-19 restrictions and hybrid learning. 

“I am tremendously proud of the resilience, adaptability and mutual support our students, faculty and staff have shown for each other this fall semester,” said Debra Liebowitz, provost, in an email to the Quinnipiac community. “And our community now begins looking forward to our winter session and spring semester.”

The J-Term (January session) will begin Jan. 4, 2021, and will be three weeks long instead of its typical two. Most classes will be online, but there will be some opportunity for on-campus instruction.

Residential students moving in for the spring semester will be assigned a move-in date between Jan. 19-24, so that the times are staggered to socially distance students.

Prior to moving in, students are required to have a negative COVID-19 test result that they completed at home. The university has not determined yet if it will be partnering with Vault Health again. 

The first day of undergraduate classes will begin on Jan. 25, and will be remote for all students while the university completes on-campus testing of its students. 

In-person classes for undergraduate and graduate students are scheduled to begin Feb. 1. All students must have two negative COVID-19 test results before they can attend on-ground classes.

There will be no spring break for the upcoming spring semester in order to keep students on campus and minimize the risk of COVID-19 transmission in the Quinnipiac community. However, in place of a spring break, there will be designated “self-care days,” where the university will give students the day off from classes. The dates are not yet scheduled. 

The university will continue its policies and restrictions regarding visitors, gatherings and participation in COVID-19 testing during the spring 2021 semester. 

“We continue to monitor developments with rapid testing, vaccines and treatments and other factors that could influence our plans for the spring,” Liebowitz said. 

Undergraduate and graduate classes will end on May 1. On May 7-8, the graduate school, School of Medicine and School of Law commencements will take place. On May 15-16, undergraduate commencement is scheduled. 

The university has not released whether commencement ceremonies will be virtual or in-person.

The university will continue its communication about the spring semester throughout the remainder of the fall semester and winter break. 

“Our students indeed earned their ability to remain on campus throughout the fall semester, and I look forward to our spring semester together,” Liebowitz said.