Learning and Community at HNU this Fall

HNU President Mike Groener and Sheila Smith McKoy, Provost and VP for Academic Affairs, message to the campus community:

As you all know, HNU is a close-knit community that values collaboration and connection. The HNU educational experience is enriched by engaging with fellow students, faculty, and staff through both academic and social opportunities. While COVID-19 may have changed how this takes place, we are working diligently to prepare our campus community so that students have a true HNU experience, whether it be in person or online.  Following is an update about what the fall semester will look like at Holy Names University.

Class Formats

The Office of Academic Affairs has selected four class formats that students can expect this fall. Of course, HNU will be prepared to pivot to 100% online instruction if the county health authorities require it. Formats for each individual class will be available in the Class Schedule on or before July 15.

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Class Scheduling

To minimize the risk of spreading COVID-19 post-holiday travel, HNU will end in-person instruction by our Thanksgiving break and conduct the rest of the fall 2020 semester online.

Residence Life

We are reconfiguring our residence halls so that each student living in campus housing will have a single room. In addition, we have identified an off-campus housing option, also single occupancy, to increase our capacity. After the course schedule has been published on July 15, students who have applied for housing will receive detailed information from the Department of Residence Life regarding a revised room selection process.

The COVID-19 pandemic is requiring us to be flexible, creative, and highly intentional about how we learn together and connect as a community. This includes planning access and opportunities for connection through academic communities, the First-Year Experience, student activities, student services, the library, and other important centers on campus. We know that our students will benefit from flexibility in our course delivery and in accessing campus resources right now.

We hope to have clearance to begin our re-opening from the Alameda County Department of Public Health by late July. In the meantime, we will continue to provide updates on the student experience at HNU, including detailed guidance for our return to campus.

We look forward to the start of classes this fall and know that our Holy Names community will grow even stronger as we navigate this extraordinary time in history together.