Dear colleagues and students,

The success of this academic term is a credit to each member of our community. Our collective efforts, including a robust testing strategy, an enhanced and expanded contact tracing program, and the cooperation of our students, faculty, and staff, have helped maintain low transmission numbers on our campus—including a positivity rate of less than 0.5%. For this, I am particularly grateful.

Community, fellowship, and high-impact teaching and learning are at the heart of the Lasallian educational experience. Our ability to deliver on our mission through in-person and hybrid courses this semester proves promising as we navigate our next chapter of the pandemic.

As we contemplate the success of this semester, I am pleased to share important plans for the forthcoming fall semester:

Fall class schedule and course registration
We are planning for a primarily in-person experience in the fall, with a large number of our undergraduate courses delivered either completely or partially in-person. As you might expect, the semester will include a mix of course modalities based on physical space constraints due to classroom capacity guidance from the City of Philadelphia.  We will work to transition even more classes to in-person modality, depending upon city restrictions in the months ahead.

The course schedule and academic calendar nearly have been finalized. The registration schedule for Summer and Fall 2021 is as follows:

• Summer 2021
  • All students: Thursday, March 11
• Fall 2021
  • Junior and Senior students: Thursday, March 11
  • Sophomore students: Thursday, March 18
  • Freshmen: Thursday, March 25
  • Non-traditional/Evening and Graduate students: Monday, June 7

Student housing and dining option
In the fall, we will continue to offer an on-campus residential experience for our students. Our requirement that all residential students maintain a meal plan will not change. This measure has proven particularly helpful, should a student need to quarantine or isolate at any point in the semester.

• Returning students received a message from the Division of Student Affairs earlier this month regarding available options, the application process, and deadlines for Fall 2021 housing and dining. More information, including the housing application, is available in the myLaSalle Portal.
• New students will receive information on the housing application process as they place their admissions deposits for fall.

Human resources
We will provide an update on the parameters and process for work accommodations for Summer 2021 and Fall 2021 later this month.

Important reminders
I ask that everyone living, learning, or working on campus continue to support our guidelines regarding daily mask-wearing, regular handwashing, physical distancing, and health monitoring. Two additional measures will support a healthier campus today and our preparations for the fall:

• If you are not well, please stay home and submit a COVID-19 disclosure form. Also, please cooperate with our contact tracing team. Answer your phone if you are called. Comply with their requests and provide helpful information.
• If you have completed the COVID-19 vaccination series, please complete and submit a COVID-19 vaccination certification form. (Please note: There are separate forms for students and employees.) All information shared through the form will remain private and confidential under HIPAA law compliance.

We have remained agile and resilient over the last year, in maintaining our commitment to safety, as well as our historic mission. And more specifically, in these last several weeks, we have learned that we are a healthier campus when we work together. Thank you and stay safe, Explorers.

Sincerely,

Colleen M. Hanycz, Ph.D.
President