This photo from the
2019 Welcome Week at South Dakota Mines shows Grubby, Mines’ mascot, at a new
student orientation event. This year, longstanding fall semester traditions and
the class schedule will adjust to reduce the potential spread of COVID-19.
South
Dakota School of Mines & Technology will begin the fall semester Aug.
19, three days earlier than previously planned, and conclude classroom
instruction by the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, with finals online in the first
part of December. The South Dakota Board of Regents announced the
same Fall 2020 schedule for all six public universities in the state.
“We are working to provide a safe and productive educational
and research environment for our students, faculty, and staff,” says South
Dakota Mines President Jim Rankin. “Our Return
to Campus Plan helps guide our actions and efforts to reduce the spread of
COVID-19 in the coming months. Our emergency management team and Rockers Return
Task Force are also monitoring the situation in the local community and will
update our plan accordingly.”
To provide for required instructional
time in a condensed semester and to further reduce travel, three holidays—Labor
Day, Native American Day and Veterans Day—will become class days. With classes
in session on those dates, universities will plan programming to appropriately
recognize the holidays. Employees will be given time off in lieu of these
holidays later in the year.
The Thanksgiving break
will begin on Wednesday, Nov. 25, and conclude Nov. 29. After the break,
students have two non-class days to prepare for final exams, which will take
place Dec. 2-8. A decision on the status of the South Dakota Mines fall
commencement is coming soon.
All university
campuses in South Dakota plan to be closed between Christmas and New Year’s Day
to facilitate deep cleaning and other preparations for the spring semester.