In an email to the Smith community on Friday, President of Smith, Kathleen McCartney announced the college’s Fall 2021 plan to invite all students to campus for an in-person semester.
“I look forward to meeting our new students and to celebrating the joys of living, learning and working together in this remarkable community,” McCartney writes.
Smith’s fall semester classes will begin on Thursday, Sept. 2. Classes will be taught in-person in campus classrooms, labs, studios and other facilities. If pandemic conditions change, classes will temporarily revert to remote instruction. Housing will return to traditional capacity and all students will return to on-campus living.
Unlike this past semester, students will not have the choice to attend remotely. The campus will also return to in-person work for staff and faculty in advance of the fall semester.
Precautions such as physical distancing and mask wearing are expected to still be necessary in the fall. As the fall semester gets closer, Smith will provide more information about health and safety protocols to continue minimizing risk.
Smith’s decision is informed by the spring semester experience, the increased availability of the COVID-19 vaccine, and current public health guidelines.
To date, Smith is currently operating in green mode which means that COVID rates on campus are remaining low and not increasing. Regular testing continues to be required for all on-campus students, staff and faculty.
Beginning on April 19, all Massachusetts residents who are 16 and older will be eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. As part of its semester plan, Smith is strongly urging all community members who are eligible to be vaccinated as soon as possible.
The college is considering requiring the vaccine for the fall—which will be subject to medical and religious exemptions. Community members will be given advance notice if Smith decides to make vaccination a requirement.
As usual, Smith continues to monitor the circumstances regarding the pandemic and could make changes to these plans.
Smith’s COVID-19 website has been updated with more information, students are invited to send their questions to covid19info@smith.edu.
[Image: Smith College Chapin Lawn (Photo courtesy of smith.edu)]
