Centenary to adjust Fall 2020 schedule
SHREVEPORT, LA — Centenary College has announced plans for a modified academic calendar and flexible course delivery for the Fall 2020 semester. The new schedule, which includes an earlier start date to allow coursework to be completed before Thanksgiving, is designed to help the College respond to any continued effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 2020-2021 academic year will begin on August 10, about two weeks earlier than normal. Instruction will end on November 17 and students will take Fall Term exams before leaving campus for Thanksgiving. Two weeks of “flex time” are built into the semester following Thanksgiving to allow for any disruptions that might happen during the earlier course of the term. The fall semester also includes a short December Term, during which students may choose to take courses remotely from a select offering.
Centenary faculty will prepare all courses for both in-person and remote delivery, which will allow them to quickly adjust to changing circumstances and also to respond to individual student or faculty health and safety needs. Centenary’s average class size is 12, giving the College the ability to easily institute appropriate social distancing and other safety measures to keep students and faculty members safe.
“We explored a number of different possible calendars and believe that this plan gives us the flexibility to keep our students, faculty, and staff safe while offering an education and experience that we are proud of and lives up to Centenary’s 195 year legacy,” says Centenary president Dr. Christopher L. Holoman. “The resulting plan capitalizes on some of Centenary’s distinctive features – small, personal classes and responsive, caring faculty and staff – to provide a safe, flexible roadmap for educating students in an environment that still contains many unknowns. We will continue to respond to the current conditions and will make any changes necessary to protect the health and well-being of our entire Centenary community.”
Centenary provides updates on its COVID-19 response at centenary.edu/covid19.