McCourt School of Public Policy
McCourt School of Public Policy
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University News

McCourt Spring Semester Planning

November 17, 2020

Dear McCourt Community:

As you may have seen, Georgetown plans to welcome graduate students back to campus in a hybrid mode for the Spring 2021 semester.

I am writing to provide McCourt-specific updates related to the University’s recent communications on Spring semester planning. Here are a few key pieces of information:

  1.  McCourt Will Offer Some Spring Classes in Hybrid Mode: The McCourt School plans to offer approximately one-third of our classes in a hybrid mode– a mix of in-person and virtual instruction– beginning in January, as public health conditions allow. All other courses will be fully remote. Students interested in attending classes in person will be expected to adhere to strict COVID-19 testing guidelines and protocols . A current list of McCourt courses which may be offered in hybrid format if health conditions permit can be found in your Georgetown e-mail.
  2. New Academic Calendar: As mentioned in Provost Groves’ email , the University has made adjustments to the Academic Calendar , including a January 25 start date and a combined Spring and Easter Break. We are working with our spring break course faculty to determine the options for rescheduling these courses and will send out information before registration on Friday.
  3. Graduate Student Tuition Discount: Georgetown will continue the same 5 percent tuition reduction that was in place for Fall 2020. All graduate students– whether they return to campus for select hybrid classes or whether they continue in remote classes– will receive the discount.
  4. Grading Policies: Students will continue to have the option of selecting the Pass/Fail option in Spring 2021 and will have until the last study day to choose the grading method. Similarly, students will have until the last study day to withdraw from a course. Modular courses within the term will have the withdrawal deadline of the last day of class for that module.
  5. Information for International Students: For students who will continue to study remotely, we will continue to plan ways to make it possible for students in distant time zones to engage directly with faculty and classmates. For international students who are planning to move to the DC area for the spring semester, please contact the Office of Global Services with any questions.
  6. Programming/Activities/Study Spaces: We recognize that co-curricular and extracurricular activities are an important part of the McCourt experience. McCourt School faculty, staff, institutes, research centers, and student organizations will continue to offer virtual programming and community engagement activities. Under strict public health protocols, a number of campus study spaces will open with reduced density via reservation systems. The University is also working to provide domestic and international students with access to quiet study spaces and internet access off campus, at no cost, through a new partnership with WeWork, which has office space for individuals in 800 locations in 32 U.S. cities and in 88 cities around the world.  Information regarding how to reserve these spaces will be communicated in the coming weeks to students.

It’s important to note that this plan is dependent upon the course of the pandemic and may change based on public health conditions. We will host a Town Hall for McCourt students on Wednesday, November 18, at 9:00pm-10:00pm EST to answer questions about the Spring semester before registration. Please RSVP here by Wednesday, November 18, at 5:00pm EST to receive the Zoom link. If you cannot attend, please fill out the RSVP and include questions/concerns you would like us to address. We will record the session and send out a McCourt FAQs on Thursday, November 19.

For general questions, visit Georgetown’s Spring 2021 FAQ or contact Leslie Evertz ; for advising and registration questions, please contact Nirmala Fernandes . We will provide regular updates as Spring semester planning takes shape.

Regardless of which mode of instruction you choose or where you are in the world, we are prepared and excited to welcome you back for the Spring semester. Thank you for your continued hard work, flexibility, and patience in this challenging year.  We look forward to continuing to give you an enriching experience both inside and outside of the classroom next semester!

Best,

Barbara