MEMORANDUM

To:                   Dalhousie students

From:               Frank Harvey, Provost and Vice-President Academic (Acting)

Date:                Friday, January 29, 2021

Re:                   Planning for spring/summer and fall terms

I hope everyone has had a safe, successful start to the winter term. I am writing to update students on our ongoing planning for the spring/summer and fall terms.

Based on Canada’s current vaccine timeline, we are optimistic Dalhousie will be able to offer an expansion of on-campus learning this fall, followed by a winter term that looks more like our normal academic experience.

Several important factors will continue to affect any decisions related to our academic offerings. These include vaccine production and distribution, expanding testing regimens, ongoing public health restrictions, and the state of domestic and international travel.

• Spring/Summer 2021 will be much like the fall and winter: largely online, with in-person instruction focused mostly on accreditation needs and experiential learning. We are striving to have course delivery information for the Spring/Summer semester available on the Academic Calendar before registration opens on February 22.

• Fall 2021 may require class-size limitations that keep larger lecture classes online, but our hope is that many tutorials, labs, and small-to-medium-sized classes (less than 100 students) will be able to be offered safely in person. Again, our approach may need to change depending on the evolving state of COVID-19 and vaccination rollouts. Planning for the Fall semester is underway through ongoing consultations with our Deans, Associate Deans Academic and Senate committees.

We know it is challenging for all — students, faculty and staff — to plan in a time of continued uncertainty. We will continue to provide the most up-to-date information we can as we work together to keep our community safe and ensure the continuity and quality of our academic experience.

Please continue to visit dal.ca/coronavirus for the latest information on our COVID-19 response including testing, international travel, self-isolation and other topics. Thank you for your continued efforts to be aware, safe and considerate as we all do our part to stop the spread of COVID-19.

Sincerely,

Frank Harvey
Provost and Vice-President Academic (Acting)

Dalhousie sits on the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq nation. We are all Treaty people. 

We acknowledge the histories, contributions, and legacies of the African Nova Scotian people and communities who have been here for over 400 years.