With many students learning remotely this semester, a recent announcement from President Farvardin indicated that little will change for the upcoming Spring 2021 semester. In addition to changes in the academic calendar, on-campus classes in a hybrid format will only be offered to certain first-year and senior undergraduate students, and new graduate students. Furthermore, certain Stevens Leased Housing (SLH) complexes will open again to accommodate the increased number of students who will be on campus next semester; however, the majority of students will continue to be restricted to online learning. All students have the option of completing the semester fully online.
The Spring 2021 plans were made based on recommendations from a special task force, chaired by Provost Christophe Pierre and comprised of Faculty Senate representatives, Deans, faculty members, student representatives and leaders, and administrators.
While only select first-year and senior undergraduate students as well as new graduate students will be able to take in-person classes, other populations will be eligible for limited on-campus activities. Student employees who are deemed as essential by their supervisors will be eligible, and a limited number of “approved additional students and student populations who are in compliance with the Stevens Health Honor Code” will also be eligible. These students may include varsity athletes in season, students working on design or research projects who are required to be on-campus, and graduate peer mentors. Three SLH complexes will reopen to accommodate the increased number of students on campus, while fraternity, sorority, and Special Interest housing will stay closed.
In addition to this increased number of students allowed on campus, the academic calendar has been modified to “allow ample time for travel, preparations, and the potential need for quarantining and COVID-19 testing prior to the start of the semester.” Specific modifications include the start of the semester being delayed one week to begin on February 1, the elimination of spring break, and the last day of classes being postponed to May 7. Three days throughout the semester are being allocated as instructional days off to accommodate the elimination of spring break.
Student response to the announcement of Spring 2021 plans has been mixed. In the Student Government Association (SGA) Slack Workspace, Alyaa Elkhafif expressed, “Did the task force working on spring semester plans pause to consider that sophomores and juniors deserve a break from online learning? Freshmen have had their chance and they’ve broken the health honor code multiple times. They clearly weren’t responsible enough, yet once again they’re prioritized to return to campus. Am I the only one who thinks, at the very least, they could’ve offered the hybrid plan to everyone contingent on the pandemic not getting worse by January. They could’ve still maintained the 50% capacity.”
In response to Elkhafif, Asim Qureshi responded, “The removal of spring break and the shortening of finals season is an unexpected change. It definitely won’t make the situation easier, in my opinion, for students who are completely online.” Graduate student Elena Malova additionally noted, “I think there are a lot of factors that probably went into deciding to put the freshmen on campus only and it’s probably because they don’t know each other. As a freshman you learn the ins and outs of Stevens and make some friends, so it’s an important aspect of the college experience and growth. As for offering more classes in hybrid mode to more upper classmates definitely a possibility and definitely think they should do that but the amount of classes that can be offered on campus is also dependent on how many professors are willing to come to campus during this time.”
Eric S. Londres added to the conversation, “While the increased number of students on campus is something I am happy to see, I seriously have to wonder if the task force adequately evaluated the combined mental health effects of 1) no break in the middle of the semester [and] 2) a compressed finals period (which we have been lobbying against for years). Factoring in that the school has done virtually nothing to address the increased levels of stress due to the pandemic in the first place, I believe this to be, to put it lightly, a blunder.” Jason Buckman responded, noting that “While I completely agree, in terms of contact tracing, removing spring break was a necessity to ensure the safety of families.”
In addition to conversations between students, the Stevens Parents Facebook Group has sparked discussion among parents who frequently post about Stevens news, ask questions, and engage in conversations over comments. In regard to the Spring 2021 plans, participant Leubna Asad wrote, “feels like fake news. how can they be so certain to reopen and increase the number of on campus students and activities when there’s suddenly such an increase of positive cases.” On the contrary, Sandra Raisch Potts noted, “I’m grateful there’s an update. A few weeks ago people were complaining there wasn’t one, and now there’s folks ready to complain that there is.” Ann Marie Fiorella-Mullen also expressed, “Considering all that is going on, I for one, [think] this is a fantastic plan! Kudos on the communication and for keeping the students on campus that need it.”
Details have yet to be finalized, and plans are subject to change due to health conditions and rates of COVID-19 cases at Stevens and in Hoboken. The Stute will continue to update readers on any changes or amendments to Spring 2021 plans.
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