With the fall semester a little more than a month away, Wichita State University announced its plans on Thursday for the spring 2021 semester. 

Spring Break is canceled and the days off will be moved to the break between the fall and spring semesters, which will now run from Dec. 11 to Jan. 29. Spring classes will then start two weeks later than normal, on Feb. 1, and will end on May 6. 

Finals will take place May 8-13, as originally planned. 

Commencement is still set for May 15, “but the date and format are subject to change based on applicable health and safety guidelines in effect at that time,” Provost Rick Muma said Thursday in a letter to the campus community. 

The changes will help protect campus members from “possible infection spikes of COVID-19 and the complication of seasonal flu peaking in the winter months,” Muma said. 

“I remain incredibly grateful for your patience, flexibility, and cooperation as we continue to navigate these uncertain times,” he said. “I know that guidance from our state and local health authorities has been changing rapidly these past few weeks as our entire community learns how to co-exist with this virus.”

Students will be able to enroll for an online-only pre-session in January, with options for one, two and four-week classes. The pre-session will last from Jan. 4 to Jan. 29 and will include an observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day on Jan. 18. Pre-sessions are optional. 

Muma also announced a new course code to distinguish between online classes with asynchronous content — in which students work at their own pace — and those with synchronized instruction, meaning students are expected to virtually meet for instruction at designated times. 

The spring changes come after the university announced similar schedule changes for the fall 2020 semester. WSU will cancel the traditional Fall Break in October and start Thanksgiving Break two days early on Monday, Nov. 23. After Thanksgiving, students will not return to campus and will complete the rest of the semester online or by remote.

Read Muma’s full letter here.