Belton, Texas - On Monday, June 8, the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor announced that it will be shifting the start and end dates of its Fall 2020 academic calendar.
The plan is to begin the fall semester returning to normal operations and resuming classes face-to-face on campus. University leaders recognize it is possible that a surge in local COVID-19 cases could recur at some point in the semester, making it necessary for UMHB to move all classes to an online format for the rest of the term, as it did in the Spring. Should this be the case, starting the semester earlier will give students additional days in a face-to-face format.
Students will take their final exams, complete their classes prior to the Thanksgiving holiday, and will be able to head home for Thanksgiving and stay there until classes resume in January. This change would mitigate the possibility of students contracting the coronavirus while home for Thanksgiving and then returning to campus and inadvertently spreading the virus to others. Currently plans call for the spring semester to begin as scheduled on January 11, 2021.
Commencement will remain as currently scheduled. Details of various campus functions and activities under this new schedule are still in development. Student groups that typically come to campus earlier than move-in day (resident assistants, student-athletes, band members, etc.) will be notified separately regarding their respective arrival dates.
