Dear Colleagues,

I hope that you enjoyed a restorative winter break. While the intent of this letter is to provide some updates and reminders as we begin the Spring 2021 semester, I want to first acknowledge that we are starting the semester during a deeply unsettling period of national angst, fueled by the violent events that transpired earlier this week in the US Capitol, threatening our very democracy and the peaceful transfer of power. As President Paxson noted in her January 6 letter to the community, it is vital that we adhere to our mission and advance our work, and engage with students, faculty, staff and the broader community about the wide array of pressing issues that these events have raised. The research, teaching and service that we conduct is profoundly relevant, and I look forward to working with all of you to contribute to meaningful and informed discourse on and beyond the campus.

Spring 2021 Reminders: Through the combined efforts of our community, we are well-prepared for the semester and year ahead. Thank you for everything that you’ve done to advance research, prepare for remote and hybrid courses, and contribute to the community through service, programming, mentorship and collegiality. What follows are a few reminders as we begin the semester.

Executive Vice President Barbara Chernow and I wrote at the end of the Fall 2020 semester to confirm plans for the Spring semester. Please take a moment to review the letter, which provides information about how we will proceed this semester to promote the health and safety of our community as we welcome students to campus.

Graduate Students: More than 2,400 graduate students are continuing (or beginning) this spring. More than half of graduate students will be on campus to study, or to serve in research and teaching roles, while others will continue their course of study remotely. Please remember that most international students who began their program in Fall 2020 or are beginning in Spring 2021 are required to take at least one hybrid course during the spring semester. For additional details on this requirement, please see the Global Brown FAQ.

Undergraduate Student Arrival & Expectations: This weekend (January 9-12), teams from Residential Life and University Events will greet new and returning undergraduates as they move into dorms. We will welcome approximately 5,500 undergraduate students to the Providence area, including 3,258 on-campus students who will be in University owned or leased housing. To maintain our commitment to single occupancy in University spaces, we have leased 240 rooms in the Omni Hotel in downtown Providence. An additional 887 undergraduates will be living and studying remotely, outside of the Providence area.

Students living in residence halls or leased off-campus housing in the spring will again be required to observe a 14-Day Quiet Period upon arrival at Brown. During this period, students are expected to remain in their residences except to participate in essential activity, such as COVID testing and meal and mail pick-up, or to visit health services. A testing site will be added at the Omni Hotel during Quiet Period for students in residence there, and meals will be delivered.

As was the case in the fall, students studying in Providence this semester are required to meet several requirements, including participating in regular testing through the University’s COVID-19 testing program, adhering to mask-wearing, social distancing and other public health protocols, and signing a Student Commitment Statement that acknowledges shared responsibility and consequences for any policy violations. You can read more about expectations of students prior to and upon arrival here.

Instruction, Shopping & Courses Registration: Classes will begin remotely on January 20, and -- unless public health conditions warrant otherwise -- our expectation is to proceed with hybrid instruction with classes of 19 or fewer students beginning Wednesday, January 27, following the same parameters in place in the fall. For a reminder of the academic policies in place during the pandemic, please visit this site.

Students are eager to connect with you and begin the spring semester, and they are already reviewing syllabi and course materials online. As a reminder, students will be able to access your syllabus via Courses@Brown, and any student who places your course in their Primary Cart will be able to view the published materials in your Canvas site until the end of the shopping period on Tuesday, February 2. These “prospective students” will also appear in your Canvas “People” roster. If you have not yet done so, please post your syllabus at coursetools.brown.edu no later than Wednesday, January 13. Your syllabus should include estimated student effort (which must meet or exceed 180 hours over the semester for a full-credit course). You can find information about this requirement and other helpful suggestions via these syllabus guidelines.

Library and Other Services: The Rockefeller Library is open for distance circulation only until the conclusion of the Quiet Period. Reservations for individual study will resume at the John Hay Library, Rock, and SciLi on January 27, 2021. Please visit the Campus Activity Level page on the Healthy Brown website for information about accessing other campus resources and services.

We continue to monitor daily COVID-19 testing results and other key data, and are working closely with campus experts and state health officials to guide University policies and practices. As noted in the December letter, this includes ongoing engagement with public health officials regarding access to coronavirus vaccine. We will continue to provide relevant information to the Brown community as details emerge.

Thank you again, and best wishes for a great semester.

Regards,

Richard M. Locke
Provost