Month: October 2020

Dear Patriot:

I want to take this opportunity, as a follow-up to a message earlier sent to you from President Washington, to express my gratitude to the entire Mason community for collectively helping to assure a successful fall semester. The success of the fall semester has required everyone to make adjustments that allowed us to adapt to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. I am deeply appreciative.

As we have passed the mid-point of the fall semester, it is critical that we each re-focus our shared commitment to public health.

Registration soon will begin for the spring semester. Although many classes again will be held in a virtual format, many classes also will be held on campus or in hybrid form at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, consistent with our Safe Return to Campus Plan.

I also write to inform you that after careful consideration, George Mason University has decided to revise the Spring 2021 Academic Calendar and eliminate the traditional week of spring break. This decision was made after extensive consultation, and in concurrence with a recommendation by our university’s Faculty Senate.

The Spring 2021 semester now will begin on Monday, January 25, 2021, one week later than originally planned. Spring 2021 classes will end as originally scheduled on Friday, April 30, with the Final Exam period to follow. The modification of the spring 2021 academic calendar will only impact the traditional 15-week semester. The Office of the Registrar will update the spring 2021 calendar to include start/end dates, exam dates, and date of degree conferral.

This decision was made to address the dual public health concerns of the COVID-19 pandemic and the expected emergence of seasonal influenza early in the winter, as well as the public health risks associated with travel. For these reasons, many universities in Virginia and across the nation, have also made the decision not to include a spring break during the upcoming spring semester.

I also want to remind you of two other important calendar items for this semester:

• November 3 – The University will be closed to observe Election Day, which is a state holiday this year. Students registered to vote on campus can vote in Merten Hall. All students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to vote.
• November 30 – Following Thanksgiving break, all classes and associated instructional activities—including final exams—will be conducted virtually beginning Monday, November 30. Mason’s campus will remain open after the Thanksgiving holiday. Residence halls and dining will continue to be open and operating, as will all other campus facilities. In addition, student services will be available and research will continue. Some students may need access to instructional spaces on campus to complete final projects for research and/or coursework. Students planning a defense of their thesis or dissertation following Thanksgiving should coordinate with their thesis or dissertation advisor.

Let us all continue our focus and shared commitment to the health of our community by wearing our masks, social distancing, frequent hand washing and the use of sanitizer and other public health advice. We do this for each other and for MASON to be TOGETHER AS ONE.

I wish you a successful and enriching Mason experience.

Stay healthy and remain well. All the best.

Mark R. Ginsberg, Ph.D.
Provost and Executive Vice President

Dear Mason Nation,

We are halfway through the fall semester, and by all accounts, we have passed one of the biggest hurdles facing universities: George Mason University has successfully reopened our campuses, kept our community safe, and delivered on our educational mission despite the pandemic. This has been challenging work for everyone in our community, and I want to applaud the efforts to make Mason a model for success.

Today, we are functioning capably in emergency conditions with our mix of on-campus and remote operations. We have just 14 confirmed active cases of COVID-19 amid our community. While other universities of our size have experienced thousands of COVID-19 cases since reopening for the fall, we have not yet experienced our 100^th case.

Our challenge now is to continue to expand our on-campus operations so that we can function as fully as possible while keeping our students, faculty, and staff safe.

Having demonstrated that we can continue to function even under such extremes, it is time to plan for Spring 2021 and the safe and gradual increase of some on-campus functions, with the goal of an eventual return of Mason to full viability.

We must recognize what our community is telling us: Students and their families have said they want more from their experience on campus – as they should. That means more on-campus engagement with faculty and fellow students, more student life activities, and more dining options.

We hear students when they tell us they came to Mason not just to learn from our exceptional faculty and participate in groundbreaking research, but also to develop deep and lasting relationships with their fellow students. Those relationships are the foundation of the college experience, and we are committed to making sure they have as many opportunities to build these while ensuring our campus stays safe.

I have also met with faculty and staff in recent weeks to hear their perspectives on the semester ahead. It is an understatement to say that they have done a remarkable job executing classes (both online and in-person) and providing important services for our students during this stressful time. Most are adapting to carrying out their work in this radically altered environment, many are challenged to balance work and home life with children who need childcare or supervision for online schooling, and some remain concerned for their own health if they resume working on campus. I want to again thank our faculty and staff for their commitment and work during this time. 

Some faculty have also expressed the need to resume research and experiential teaching in a fully functioning campus environment, particularly in laboratory environments, performing arts, and other disciplines that thrive with in-person engagement. And many staff members need to be on campus to help us provide the extraordinary service on which our students depend.

Therefore, our goal for the spring is to strike the right balance for our community. We need to bring as many on-campus functions back on line, and as many employees back to campus, as we can – safely. We should not, and will not, fully open the campus all at once, nor will we operate outside the guidance of prevailing public health conditions and guidance from health professionals. In the days and weeks to come, you will receive more information from my leadership team on our plans for spring – starting with a message later today from Provost Mark Ginsberg on the Spring schedule. But first, I want to give you a sense of the direction we are headed.

It includes:

• Increasing in-person classes by at least 10 percent for the spring, including a significant increase in introductory level classes.
• Expanding occupancy of residence halls and on-campus dining options, while maintaining safety requirements.
• Expanding on-campus activities in support of students, consistent with public health guidelines.
• Carefully bringing more employees back to campus and setting a goal to have employees on campus up to 50 percent of the time.
• Increasing capacity and frequency of testing for students, faculty and staff to identify asymptomatic cases sooner.
• Continuing to work with our partners in the school systems on solutions.
• Requiring flu shots for all residential students by close of business on Dec. 11, and strongly encouraging flu shots for faculty, staff and commuter students.

Many things will not change in the spring. For example, limitations for classroom occupancy will remain the same, including six feet spacing between students and 10 feet spacing between instructors and students. Move-in procedures for residence halls will remain the same from the fall. Residential students who leave campus for winter break will be required to take a COVID test before moving back into on-campus housing. Physical distancing requirements for dining will remain in place, while we continue to offer takeout, delivery and robotic delivery options.

As always, I will continue to work with the faculty, staff, and student leaders to incorporate their input into our plans. We are stronger when we work together.

Finally, I want to reinforce the need to stay vigilant. We have been successful because everyone has done their part to keep Mason safe. Continue to wear your face coverings. Complete the Mason COVID Health Check each day if you plan to be on campus sometime this semester. Participate in surveillance testing when selected. And follow our public health and safety precautions.

Thank you.

Gregory Washington
President

George Mason University’s active cases of COVID-19 remain low, thanks to everybody doing their part. Active cases and testing data are available on the COVID-19 dashboard.

There are approximately 11,500 students enrolled in some type of face-to-face instruction this fall and 1,200 faculty teaching on campus.

A big reason that Mason has been able to maintain those levels is the randomized testing of asymptomatic community members at the Ángel Cabrera Global Center on the Fairfax Campus. An algorithm built by Mason faculty selects people to invite for testing from among those who have indicated they will be on campus at some point during the semester.

Read more about Mason’s COVID-19 Testing