McDaniel College announces Fall 2021 plans

McDaniel College has announced its plans for Fall 2021, including a return to near-normal operations and face-to-face instruction for undergraduate students.

Key decisions include:

Academics:

• McDaniel is planning for a primarily in-person experience with more than 90 percent of undergraduate classes to be offered as traditional in-person classes and 100 percent of labs. The other 10 percent of classes will mostly be offered in a hybrid format, which includes an in-person component. 
• Undergraduate classes will begin Monday, August 23, and the full undergraduate academic calendar is available here. 
• McDaniel Local orientation sessions for first-year students will continue to be offered in person in June and July (at least one virtual session will also be offered).
• The college is beginning to look into study abroad options, including whether students will have the option to study abroad at McDaniel’s European campus in Budapest, Hungary.
•  The calendars for Graduate and Professional Studies will remain unchanged since most graduate course instruction is already offered in an online format. Summer and Fall registration opens April 1. View the full graduate academic calendar here.

Student Housing and Food Service:

• McDaniel will continue to offer an on-campus residential experience for its undergraduate students and will determine what housing policies and restrictions related to COVID-19 will need to remain in place.

Health and Wellness:

• Health and safety policies and guidelines are anticipated to be finalized this summer. This includes whether masks will be required in classrooms and other indoor and outdoor campus areas, as well as COVID-19 testing protocols, including surveillance testing. The college will also confirm its isolation and quarantine procedures in consultation with the Carroll County Health Department. 
• The college is closely monitoring COVID vaccination availability for students. No decision has yet been made on whether students will be required to have the COVID vaccine this fall. 
• All students are strongly encouraged to get the seasonal flu vaccine once the vaccine becomes available in September. McDaniel’s Wellness Center is planning to offer flu shot clinics on campus during the fall semester.

McDaniel’s Return to the Hill Taskforce will continue to meet to prepare for the fall semester and the Return to the Hill (RTTH) webpage at www.mcdaniel.edu/RTTH will be updated with the latest information.

For full details, read the email sent to the McDaniel campus community here.