Update on Summer at DU

Dear DU Community,

About two weeks ago, I provided an update on summer programs and events on campus. Our plans at the time were based in part on guidelines from Denver and Colorado that gatherings would be limited to no more than 10 people at least through June 1, and that social distancing was likely to continue well into the summer. On Tuesday, the governor projected that while restaurants are opening this week, as far as events and social gatherings go, July and August are "not going to look like normal." Nonetheless, we await the governor's specific guidance for higher education activities beyond June 1.

In practical terms, new guidelines in the near term from the governor and mayor are unlikely to change our summer plans for campus activity, because we are already proceeding with great care. Most of our summer courses already are being offered online, and we have suspended summer camps and other large gatherings.

As promised, here is some important academic information about summer. I also plan to update the community about our fall planning within the next day or so.

• Online and In-Person Delivery—Our individual academic units are working through specific course listings with the registrar, IT and facilities. Our summer quarter begins on June 14 and Sturm College of Law begins its summer term June 1 and may offer some in-person classes as soon as June 11. Students should direct specific questions about their program or classes to their academic advisors and the registrar. As we have noted before, most of our summer courses at both the graduate and undergraduate level have historically been online, and this year is no different with 95 percent of our undergraduate credit hours being offered online and 80 percent of our graduate credit hours also offered online. We will offer a very limited number of experiential face-to-face courses.
• Summer Grading—After much consultation with faculty, and with undergraduate and graduate students and student leaders, DU’s Faculty Senate has decided to extend Pass Plus/Pass/No Pass through the summer quarter. Note that the Sturm College of Law previously decided to extend Honors/Pass/No Pass into the summer term.
• Summer Commencement—While our strong desire is to celebrate in person, we continue to be prudent and to watch for guidelines from the governor and mayor before making a decision. We will make a decision by June 15 at the latest.

Thank you again for your patience. We remain deeply committed to ensuring that we continue to deliver the exceptional DU experience you have come to count on.

Sincerely,

Jeremy Haefner
Chancellor