UL Lafayette’s Fall 2021 semester ‘to be as close to normal as we can be’

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The University of Louisiana at Lafayette is planning for mostly face-to-face instruction in the Fall 2021 semester.

In a letter to the campus community on Thursday, UL Lafayette President Dr. Joseph Savoie lauded students, faculty and staff members for helping to “create a consistently safe living, learning and working environment over the past 12 months” in response to COVID-19.

“Your diligence, coupled with the increasing availability of vaccines, enables us to expect that campus life in the Fall 2021 semester will look, feel and be much as it was before the pandemic,” Savoie announced. 

And that means students can expect more in-person course options in the fall, he added.  

Savoie’s message comes as UL Lafayette nears the anniversary of its transition to remote instruction in the Spring 2020 semester. Though some courses have been offered face-to-face since, most have been delivered online, virtually or in a combination of remote and in-person.

The various delivery methods enabled the University to respond to changes in the public health situation. Savoie cautioned that UL Lafayette’s plans for fall would be just as agile.

“It is our intention to be as close to normal as we can be when the fall semester begins, though we will continue to follow the advice and guidance of local, state and national health authorities. As that guidance and other protocols change between now and then, we will make appropriate adjustments.

“Your health and well-being remain paramount, as they’ve been throughout the past year,” Savoie said.  

UL Lafayette does not anticipate significant changes to course instruction in its summer terms. Fall semester classes begin Aug. 23. Fall advising and registration start later this month.

For now, the University is asking students and employees to participate in on-campus COVID-19 testing and, when possible, to receive vaccinations.

“Your participation in both will help ensure the continued safety of your fellow students, faculty and staff members. That, in turn, will solidify our confidence that we have done all we can to protect everyone who is on campus now and those who return to campus in the fall,” Savoie said.

“So, we’re close – but we’re not home yet. Reaching our destination requires that we remain as vigilant, cooperative and considerate as we have been.

“I know I can count on you to do so, and that makes me all the more certain that I’ll be able to welcome many of you back to campus in a few short months.”

“And I am looking forward to that moment very much.”

Read Savoie’s full message to the University community here.

Photo credit: Doug Dugas / University of Louisiana at Lafayette