Office of the Provost
Dear Georgetown Hilltop Campus Undergraduate Students, Faculty and Staff,
We know you have been looking forward to hearing more about the Fall semester at Georgetown. Following yesterday’s message from President DeGioia, this letter provides more detailed information for you about this first stage of our return to campus.
All of us, faculty, staff, and students, are greatly looking forward to our joint work together in education, research, and service to the community. We are all living history day-by-day as we respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. We seek to make this year, for you, the best possible experience we can.
Even though most courses will not be offered in Hilltop classrooms, faculty are planning new and innovative ways to use virtual learning technologies to deliver engaging and impactful learning to benefit our students. We are planning events and access to speakers from around the world that make the most of the online platform. Student Affairs staff are working on inventive ways to create virtual events that support clubs and affinity groups. Student leaders are working to adapt to their diverse constituencies in new ways.
Together we will create the Georgetown way of thriving despite the challenges the pandemic presents us. We will do this as we do all great things – together, as women and men for others, caring for our community and its mission of excellence in education. Together, we are resilient and can adapt to the challenges thrust upon us.
Key Take-Away Messages
- We must be flexible to achieve the resilience we need in fall semester
- We must follow public health protocols to have any on-campus presence
- Only if public health conditions permit at the start of the semester will approximately 2,000 undergraduates initially live in Hilltop residences
- The academic calendar has been changed to reduce during-semester travel
- Access to campus buildings is restricted to faculty, staff, graduate students and undergraduates living in residence halls
Flexibility
The health and safety of our community continue to guide all decision-making. Although we are planning to have some students take on-campus courses in Hilltop classrooms in this first phase of fall term 2020, the course of the pandemic may force us to change plans to an all virtual educational environment. That is not our choice. It, however, may be our fate this semester. Conversely, if the public health landscape and the DC government allow, we hope to invite more students back to campus during the semester. We must all maintain a level of flexibility this term in the face of external events out of our control.
Following Health Guidelines
This priority extends to you, as well as all faculty, students, and staff. Before we set foot on campus, we will each pledge to follow a set of guidelines called the Georgetown University Community Compact, involving matters such as daily self-monitoring of health symptoms, testing, wearing face coverings, and physical distancing. There will be strict penalties for students who return to campus and do not adhere to the Compact.
We can best protect each other and our full community by fulfilling our pledge to adhere to the Compact.
Which Undergraduates Are Returning to Campus Residence Halls First
If public health conditions and the DC government permit, approximately 2,000 undergraduates will be invited to the Hilltop Campus to live in campus residence halls this August.
This number was established based on several factors, including the capacity of our residence halls and classrooms to allow for adequate social distancing, and our capacity for testing, tracing and isolating. Priority for on-campus residence has been given to students whose personal or family situation makes it impossible or impractical to complete their studies at their permanent address. We want to make sure that every Georgetown student, regardless of their different circumstances at home, can fully engage in what we have to offer at this challenging moment.
Beyond this, a limited number of undergraduate students who have curricular requirements that need Hilltop campus facilities, and a limited number of residential life student workers required to live in residence halls will return to campus in the initial group. Finally, first year students, the class of 2024, will have priority as the initial transition to college life and a campus community is critical for framing an academic career at Georgetown.
As we have announced earlier, graduate students will return to campus only for classes. There will be no residential graduate students on campus.
As we begin the Fall semester, and if conditions allow, President DeGioia noted that we plan to welcome to campus four categories of undergraduates, numbering about 2,000:
- Members of the first-year class, the Class of 2024
- Students whose personal or family situation makes it impossible or unrealistic to pursue their studies at their permanent address:
- Students experiencing housing or food insecurity, with safety and security concerns in their current living environment, with extraordinary living conditions and high financial need, as determined by the Office of Student Financial Services (Financial Aid), with unresolvable internet inaccessibility, or whose permanent home address is more than five hours away from the Eastern US time zone may apply to return under this category. A separate note on the process to apply for these exceptions will be sent to students Tuesday, July 7. Students who are currently living in campus residences do not need to apply again.
- A limited number of seniors and other students whose graduation requirements and academic program necessitate an on-campus presence:
- Nursing students whose clinical experiences are required for licensure will be granted on-campus residence. A listing of these students will be supplied to the Residential Life staff to verify eligibility. These students do not have to complete a separate application.
- Seniors who are enrolled in 5-year Bachelor/Master programs and taking one or more Master’s level courses will be granted on-campus residence. A listing of these students will be supplied to the Residential Life staff to verify eligibility. These students do not have to complete a separate application.
- ROTC cadets will be granted on-campus residence. A listing of these students will be supplied to the Residential Life staff to verify eligibility. These students do not have to complete a separate application.
- Seniors who are engaged in previously approved credit-bearing individual projects for senior theses or capstone projects requiring campus facilities, as part of their program completion, will be granted residence. These students do not have to complete a separate application.
- Some student Resident Assistants to support this small residential community
It is important to note that a student in any of these four groups has the option to remain at home should they prefer.
For those not invited to live in Hilltop Campus residence halls in the initial transition, we understand your disappointment. The faculty, staff, and other students are united in wanting all of us back together again as soon as possible. We hope that this will occur soon, but we have no assurance of that possibility. To serve those away from campus, all courses will be available to all students enrolled in them remotely, whether or not the class has in-person meetings.
Characteristics of a Course in a Hilltop Classroom
For courses with in-classroom meetings (held for students attending in-person), both students in the classroom and students distant from the classroom will be able to participate in the class meetings. In addition to participating synchronously, all students will be able to access videos of class meetings stored for asynchronous viewing and study.
The classrooms themselves have been altered over the summer in two important ways:
- Classrooms will be upgraded with enhanced educational technology, with microphones for students, cameras for lecture capture purposes, and data projectors.
- The number of desks in each room has been radically reduced, to provide for physical distancing among students and more space between the instructor and the class.
Each classroom will be cleaned frequently. Sanitizing wipes and hand sanitizing dispensers will be available widely. All students and instructors will wear face coverings during the class meeting. Some instructors may be teaching from a remote location and will appear on a screen in front of the classroom. If there are remote students in the course, students in the room will use their laptops in a Zoom meeting, so that they can see their remote classmates.
International Students
We are examining closely the recent statement from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Georgetown is committed to supporting our international students and is working to find academic and course planning solutions that will allow our international students to experience as little disruption to their academic progress and F-1 student status as possible. We will be monitoring further anticipated guidance on this issue and working closely with departments and students in the coming weeks to develop and communicate options for our international student community.
The Academic Calendar
The academic calendar has been altered to reduce the amount of travel by buses, trains, and airplanes during the term. This is an effort to reduce the risk of infection for students, faculty, and staff.
- August 17-24 (Monday – Monday): Move-in for New and Returning Undergraduates Approved to live on Campus
- August 22-25 (Saturday – Tuesday): New Student Orientation (Virtual)
- August 26 (Wednesday): First Day of classes
- September 4 (Friday): Late reg ends/Add/Drop ends; Last day to drop without the grade of a W
- September 7 (Monday): Labor Day – CLASSES IN SESSION
- September 8 (Tuesday): Last day for 100% refund
- September 22 (Tuesday): Last day for 80% refund
- October 6 (Tuesday): Last day for 70% refund
- October 12 (Monday): Fall Mid-semester break – NO BREAK – CLASSES IN SESSION
- October 16-18 (Friday-Sunday) Parent & Family Weekend (Virtual)
- October 16 (Friday): FY Advisory/UC Deficiency Mid-term Warnings Due
- October 20 (Tuesday): Last day for 50% refund
- October 27 (Tuesday): Last day for 40% refund
- November 19 (Thursday): Last day to drop a course with a grade of W
- November 21- 29 (Saturday-Sunday): Thanksgiving Recess – no classes (Most students vacate residence halls until start of Spring Semester)
- November 30 (Monday): CLASSES RESUME ONLINE
- December 8 (Tuesday): Last class before Final exams
- December 9-10 (Wednesday-Thursday): Study Days
- December 11-18 (Friday-Friday): Final Examinations
- December 18 (Friday): End of Fall Term
Residential Life
Room assignments will be made in the coming weeks with students living in single bedrooms. Incoming first-year students will live in traditional residence halls and suite-style buildings, while returning students will live in suite-style and apartment-style buildings. There will be opportunities for community life in the residence halls, but there will also be significant limitations on social gatherings and common activities, in order to assure health and safety.
Living off Campus
Those undergraduate students who are not approved to live on campus are strongly encouraged to remain at their home address in order to be mindful of our community neighbors.
It is important to recognize that the many courses for upperclass students will be offered exclusively on-line. Undergraduate students living off campus may not attend classes on campus, except for those enrolled in accelerated master’s programs. All students who live on-campus or off-campus are members of the Georgetown university community and are expected to abide by University health protocols; the Compact applies to all students, whether they are living on campus or off-campus in the neighborhoods adjacent to the University. The university will provide testing, tracing, and an app for symptom monitoring, within the university’s capacity to do so.
Access to Campus Spaces
All campus spaces are being reviewed for their operations and plans, and determinations about use will be made on an individual basis based on DC and University health and safety guidelines. Only students living in Hilltop Campus residence halls will have access to Main Campus buildings, with the exception that off-campus students will be allowed to access the Student Health Center.
The Spring Semester
We cannot yet make decisions regarding the Spring 2021 semester, given the changing nature of the COVID-19 pandemic. As soon as we can, we will announce those decisions.
Finances and Financial Aid
Any questions regarding financial aid should be directed to the Office of Student Financial Services.
For More Information
For general information about nonacademic University operations and services in the coming fall semester, please contact our university helpline between 9 a.m.-5 p.m. EDT Monday to Friday at 202-784-3510.
For questions about academic issues (classes, courses, and degree requirements), please send an email to AskAboutFall2020@georgetown.edu. Your questions will be directed to the appropriate school and dean to assist you. In addition, each school is planning follow-up webinars and seminars to provide further detailed information. Announcements for these events will come from the school dean’s offices.
We encourage you to view this set of FAQs which may be helpful in providing further information.
We thank you in advance for your patience as we approach the Fall semester, and urge you to remain flexible in your planning. We will continue to monitor the public health concerns that guide our decision-making, and will promptly reach out to you with any adjustments or changes to planning as we get closer to the opening of the term.
Whether we are teaching and learning in-person or in a virtual environment, I know that, together, we will experience an exceptional and uniquely Georgetown education, and we will be guided by cura personalis in all of our work together.
Sincerely,
Robert M. Groves
Provost