College of Charleston President Andrew T. Hsu shared the following message regarding the Fall 2021 semester on Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2021:
Dear Campus Community,
Based on current projections for the COVID-19 virus, I’m pleased to announce that the College of Charleston intends to resume normal, on-campus, in-person instruction for the Fall 2021 semester.
With the current number of active COVID-19 cases on campus remaining relatively low and with forecasts that the COVID-19 vaccine will be available to 300 million Americans by the end of July, we anticipate returning to the full array of academic and campus life offerings that are so fundamental to the College of Charleston experience by the time school begins on August 24, 2021.
In the meantime, I want to thank everyone for continuing to follow our campus protocols, namely wearing masks, practicing safe social distancing, participating in mandatory testing and washing hands regularly. Your diligence is the reason I have confidence in our ability to start the fall semester with traditional in-person learning.
Our campus health and safety guidelines as outlined in our Back on the Bricks plan will remain in place for now. I am well aware that many of you would like us to consider easing some of these restrictions. While I can’t tell you if or when that will happen, I can tell you that those decisions will depend upon everyone’scontinued adherence to our rules, both on and off campus.
It is particularly important that students selected for mandatory testing take these mandates seriously. I’m disappointed that some students have chosen to ignore multiple required testing notifications from the College. If this applies to you or someone you know, be advised that we will enforce these violations through our student code of conduct, which could result in suspension. To the many hundreds of students who have complied with mandatory testing – including some of you who have been selected more than once – I thank you for doing your part to keep our campus safe and open.
I am very happy to bring this good news of a normal Fall 2021 to our campus, but as we have said for nearly a year now, the health and safety of our community is our number-one priority, and we will continue to adjust our plans as the pandemic evolves. If we all keep doing the right things, we will get through this semester safely, and we can then begin looking forward to a more normal, on-campus experience in the fall.
Go Cougars!
Sincerely,
Andrew
Andrew T. Hsu, Ph.D.
President
College of Charleston
