Winthrop to start its spring semester remotely due to COVID concerns. What we know
Winthrop University will begin its spring semester without its students in classrooms.
Similar to the fall 2020 semester, the school in Rock Hill will begin its second semester with remote instruction on Jan. 11, per a recent announcement from Winthrop Interim President George Hynd. The in-person component of instruction will begin a week later, on Jan. 19.
Hynd announced this modification to Winthrop’s spring 2021 academic schedule, which was to “begin the semester as planned,” as a way to mitigate “virus spread as the holiday season winds down.” The modification, Hynd said, also provides more time to implement the school’s spring COVID-19 testing protocol — which requires residential students and those taking in-person classes to present a negative test result before they move back into residence halls or attend class.
“Both students and faculty members responded well to the fall remote start, and I expect this spring adjustment will be similarly accommodated,” Hynd wrote in the announcement. “There will be a small reduction in housing and dining revenue due to the remote start, but my belief is that the health and well-being of our community is worth this cost.”
Winthrop also will forego the traditional, week-long spring break in March, hoping that the decision reduces “increased virus transmission,” which seems to go “hand-in-hand with traveling and tourism activities.”
Instead, five “Spring Break” days will be spread out throughout the middle of the semester. These five days off will be Feb. 16; Mar. 3; Mar. 18; April 9; April 19.
The last day of class is scheduled for April 26, and exams begin April 28.
Winthrop has reported only 71 positive cases of coronavirus among its students and staff since March 16. That said, as of Tuesday, its surrounding community in York County had reported its third day in the pandemic with more than 200 new COVID cases. So far in December, York County has averaged more than 160 new cases a day.
The pandemic hasn’t only changed Winthrop’s schedule. It’s also prompted fiscal changes: In June, the Rock Hill school discontinued its men’s and women’s tennis programs in a university-wide effort to cut expenses, and in August, it implemented a plan that furloughed over 800 workers to save $3 million.
“Please know that the university’s leadership remains committed to offering the Winthrop education that students and their families have come to expect, in as safe an environment as possible,” Hynd wrote. “I appreciate all you have done and will do during this extraordinary academic year.”
Winthrop spring calendar
Jan. 11: First day of class; remote learning until Jan. 19
Jan. 18: Martin Luther King Jr. Day (no classes)
Jan. 19: In-person classes begin
Feb. 16: Spring break day 1 (no classes)
Mar. 3: Spring break day 2 (no classes)
Mar. 18: Spring break day 3 (no classes)
April 9: Spring break day 4 (no classes)
April 19: Spring break day 5 (no classes)
April 26: LDOC (no classes)
April 28-May 4: Final exams
May 6 and 8: Commencement ceremonies
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