Breadcrumb
Advising staff: If you have any pressing questions, comments, or concerns, please share them via this form. We'll update this site with addional information as needed.
Fall 2020 General Questions
- What does the fall 2020 academic calendar look like?
- Why the change in the academic calendar to reduce fall break and go remote after Thanksgiving?
- What will fall 2020 courses look like?
- Is the passing period between classes being modified?
- Will meal plans/housing costs be adjusted if students don't come back after Thanksgiving?
- How will in-person classes be structured?
- Will all classes have a remote option? Will students still be able to take classes if they can’t be physically on campus?
- What if students have to leave campus mid-semester due to health/medical issues?
- What does academic support look like?
- Will CU consider extending their spring 2020 Pass/Fail policy to fall 2020?
Classes will begin on Monday, Aug. 24, 2020, and continue through Wednesday, Nov. 25. Fall break will be shortened (Thursday, Nov. 26 - Sunday, Nov. 29), and then all in-person teaching will shift to remote after Fall Break. The last day of classes is Monday, Dec. 7, followed by Reading Day on Dec. 8, and then final exams will take place from Dec. 9-13.
To reduce post-travel mixing between people after fall break, while still maximizing time for in-person teaching.
Courses will be offered in a mix of five different modes: in-person, remote (synchronous), online (asynchronous), hybrid in-person/online and/or remote, and hybrid remote/online.
Yes. The passing period between classes will be increased to 20 minutes. The Registrar’s Office is updating start/end times of currently scheduled classes to accommodate this extended passing period. The Registrar’s Office will be notifying continuing students once schedules are set in mid-to-late July.
No. The time period after fall break represents less than 10% of the semester and instruction as well as meal plan/housing availability will continue.
Faculty are revising course syllabi to share this (and other) information. All in-person learning must be calibrated so that classrooms meet physical distancing requirements. Students will be required to wear masks and will be 8’ away, in every direction, from another person. Most of our classroom spaces will accommodate only 25% of normal capacity.
Departments and programs must offer enough fully remote and/or online options so that students who cannot learn in person can make progress toward their degrees. However, not every individual course will have a remote option.
Advisors/departments/faculty will need to be as flexible as possible in terms of helping students to navigate a change to being fully remote. Individual departments and faculty are working to prepare options.
Resources like tutoring, office hours, and help rooms will all be available through a mix of in-person, remote, and/or online modes.
No, the extended Pass/Fail policy was for the spring 2020 semester only. However, the timeline for students to choose the Pass/Fail grading basis is changing from the third week to the 10th week of the fall semester. The deadline to make that change on Buff Portal for the fall 2020 semester is Friday, Oct. 30th, 2020.
CU 101
- Are all incoming students required to take a CU 101 course?
- Is CU 101 a single, common course that every first-year student takes?
- What are the Modules that are common to every CU 101 course?
- Will students be batched into their CU 101 class?
- Does the 1 credit CU 101 course count against the max credits a student can take in a single semester?
All incoming first-year students are required to complete the CU 101 content; incoming transfer students are not being batched into a CU 101 course; however, they will be exposed to the same COVID-related content that all students must complete via the COVID-19 Student Health & Expectations course.
CU 101 is a generic term that refers to the various transition/student success courses offered to first-year students in each college. Every college/school/program has its own version of CU 101 for the fall 2020 semester; some are newly created courses and others are pre-existing courses with new common fall 2020 content incorporated.
-
A&S: ARSC 1520 (new) “Health, Society, & Wellness in COVID-19 Times”, 1 cr P/F, online asynchronous Canvas course
-
CEAS:
-
COEN 1830 “Engineering First-Year Symposium”, 1 cr graded, in-person seminars
-
AREN 1316-1 Introduction to Architectural Engineering
-
CHEN 1300-1 Introduction to Chemical Engineering
-
CVEN 1317-1 Introduction to Civil and Environmental Engineering
-
CSCI 1000-1 Computer Science as a Field of Work and Study
-
ECEN 1100-1 Exploring ECE
-
EVEN 1000-1 Introduction to Environmental Engineering
-
COEN 1510-1 Self-Management and Leadership Principles 1 (Goldshirt course)
-
EHON 1151-3 Critical Encounters (Engineering Honors Program course)
-
CVEN 2837-3 Introduction to Global Engineering (Global Engineering course)
-
ENES 1010-3 Engineering, Ethics and Society
-
GEEN 3830-only the CAD sections for BMEN students
-
-
ENVD: ENVD 1004 “Introduction to Environmental Design”, 3 cr graded, remote
-
CMCI: CMCI 1000 “Special Introductory Topics in CMCI”, 1 cr, online
-
Leeds: BADM 1250 “Designing your Leeds”, 1.5 cr P/F, remote seminars
-
PES: FYXP 1500 (new) “First Year Success Seminar”, 1 cr P/F, asynchronous lecture with remote recitations
-
Music: TBD
-
Education: ARSC 1520 (new) “Health, Society, & Wellness in COVID-19 Times”, 1 cr P/F, online asynchronous Canvas course
Every CU 101 course will include COVID-19 Education, Safety Standards & Community Expectations, Health & Wellness, Inclusion, Diversity, Equity & Social Justice, and Anti-Racism topics.
Yes, and clean-up reports are being run to identify students who need to be enrolled manually.
Yes.
Continuing/Current Students
- When will fall schedules be finalized and how will continuing students know their course schedule changes?
- When will continuing students be able to adjust their fall course schedule?
- What if students need specific courses in order to make progress towards a degree — will those courses be offered this academic year?
- What if a class or section is cancelled; will students be informed?
- Will there be an in-person graduation ceremony for fall 2020?
Curricular adjustments for current/continuing students should be in place by mid-to-late July, and the Registrar’s Office will be notifying students once schedules are set.
Starting on Aug. 3 (enrollment periods display in Buff Portal).
Departments and programs are prioritizing courses needed for major, minor, and certificate requirements, and the courses in most demand. But not every course will have an online/remote option.
Some departments may be able to contact individual students, but many will not. Students should check the Buff Portal to see their schedules now and again just before August 3rd so they will be prepared to add courses if necessary on August 3rd when open enrollment begins. If students have questions about their schedules, they should schedule an appointment with their advisor so they are ready to go on August 3rd.
Because the campus will be transitioning to a remote/online teaching mode after Thanksgiving, an in-person graduation ceremony in December is unlikely. We are working on virtual recognition of our December 2020 graduates.
Incoming/New Students
- When will new first-year students be able to register?
- When will new transfer students be able to enroll in fall classes?
- Will all incoming students be batch enrolled into a partial schedule?
- What is a cohort and will all students or only first-year students have a cohort?
- How many students will be in a cohort?
- What will the on-campus experience look like for commuter students?
- What about AP and IB exam scores?
- Will new students have an option to change their pre-enrolled classes?
- Why should new first-year students come to CU in the fall?
- When will students learn their housing assignment & cohort?
- Can students change their major or college over the summer?
First year students will be pre-enrolled in some/all courses and then will have the July enrollment windows to add additional, primarily online/remote courses to complete their schedule (enrollment periods display in Buff Portal). When open enrollment begins on Aug. 3 incoming students will have another opportunity to revise their fall course schedule.
New transfer students will be able to enroll in fall classes starting on July 16 (enrollment periods display in Buff Portal).
Yes, the number of credit-hours will vary by college but all students will be pre-enrolled, including students who are in majors/programs that don’t typically batch-enroll students.
Only first-year students will have a cohort. Cohorts are groups of students within the residence halls, typically organized by college or other affiliated group, to support safety and academic community. Cohorts within residence halls are managed by the various colleges, schools, and programs.
Cohort sizes vary and may be divided into sub-cohorts, but they will likely range from approximately 50-150 students.
First-year students who are commuting to campus will also be cohorted, meaning they will also have a local community with whom they connect via course enrollments.
CU expects to receive AP and IB scores mid-to-late July, and the Admissions Office will post any AP or IB earned college credit to student records by the end of July. Advisors/colleges may need to help students make schedule adjustments as a result of seeing AP/IB credit post.
Yes, but students may experience some limitations in their ability to switch around their classes due to cohorting and resulting seat availability. Likely only online/remote classes will be available to switch into, so students should consult with an academic advisor if contemplating any course changes.
Moving away from home to engage in a shared learning experience with your peers is a pivotal milestone in many people’s lives. In a virtual, in person, or a re-imagined version somewhere in between, you will be taking tangible steps toward your future!
The Housing Office has been notifying students throughout the summer, with all students receiving their room assignment on or before August 3. See the Housing FAQ for more information.
Students may contact the Admissions Office to see if they are eligible to change major and/or college. Students are being encouraged to inquire with the Admissions Office before July 1. After that date, it’s possible that a change of major/college could result in students needing to take primarily online courses in that newly declared area.