Dear Santa Clara University Students,

We are delighted to welcome both our newest Broncos cohort and our returning students to an in-person living and learning environment this fall. Faculty and staff have been carefully planning for the University’s safe return to campus. Over the past few weeks, some graduate students have already moved into University housing and attended courses in-person.  All of us are pleased to see students, staff and faculty reconvene as a community on our main Santa Clara campus and at the Jesuit School of Theology. We look forward to continuing to provide all of our students with high quality learning and engagement opportunities grounded in SCU’s Jesuit tradition. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has taken an immeasurable toll on millions, including students who have lost over a year of in-person college experiences. As we actively plan for your return to campus, we have implemented key health and safety measures to keep our community safe from breakthrough infections including: mandatory proof of COVID-19 vaccination, required masking indoors, and mandatory entry testing. 

We have also adapted our course modalities to best achieve course learning objectives and enrich student learning. These changes are outlined below along with some important reminders and information to facilitate your safe and smooth arrival to campus this fall.

Wishing you a safe holiday weekend and productive start to the fall term.

Kate Morris
Acting Provost

Ed Ryan
Acting Provost

As you were reminded in an email from SCU’s COVID-19 health team Tuesday, all students are required to submit proof of COVID-19 vaccination in order to participate in any courses at SCU—regardless of whether the courses are conducted in-person, online, or in hybrid format. Also, all students—regardless of vaccination status—are  required to take part in mandatory entry testing in order to study or live on campus. Please note the following: 

• Mandatory COVID-19 vaccination: The deadline (Sep. 1) to upload your proof of COVID-19 vaccination has passed. If you have not yet uploaded your COVID-19 vaccination information, please do so immediately unless you have been approved for a medical exemption. If you previously uploaded your vaccination status through Vax Verify, you will need to resubmit your proof of vaccination through Cowell Center | My Student Health Portal. Through this portal, you will also be able to double check the upload status of your proof of COVID-19 vaccination. If you encounter any issues or if you have any questions regarding your COVID-19 vaccine card upload, please contact covid19@scu.edu.
  
  
• Starting soon, Cowell Health Center, the Office of the Registrar, and the deans’ offices from all SCU schools and colleges will be reaching out to students who have failed to satisfy the proof of vaccination, and urging them to come into immediate compliance. 

• On September 17, undergraduate and quarter-based students who are still noncompliant will be advised that they will not be able to attend classes or live in University housing (JST students will be withdrawn beginning September 3 for noncompliance).

• Mandatory entry testing: All students—even those fully vaccinated—must  participate in SCU’s mandatory entry testing at the start of fall term. For undergraduate students, this means a three-test process (for detailed entry testing information, please visit PreparedSCU).

The undergraduate and graduate academic calendars for the fall 2021 term remain unchanged. As a reminder, Santa Clara University celebrates the Mass of the Holy Spirit at the beginning of each academic year. This fall, the Mass of the Holy Spirit will be celebrated at noon on September 29, 2021 in the Mission Church. As we do every year, to enable the campus community to attend the Mass, classes on the Santa Clara campus will not meet between 11:45 a.m. and 1:15 p.m. that day. Classes scheduled on the Santa Clara campus that begin at 1:00 p.m. will be rescheduled to begin at 1:15 p.m. In the coming weeks, the Office of the President and the Division of Mission and Ministry will be sending to the entire campus community an invitation to participate in the Mass and luncheon that follows (please note that classes will not be cancelled for the luncheon and will resume following the Mass). Separately, the Jesuit School of Theology will celebrate a Mass of the Holy Spirit on Friday September 10 at 5:15 pm to coincide with the start of classes in Berkeley for theology and ministry students.

Our return to campus allows our exceptional faculty to deliver most of their course instruction in-person. This is consistent with our commitment to providing a rich Jesuit educational experience in a residential learning environment. Over the past eighteen months and through detailed student feedback, we have also learned that student experiences may be enhanced by innovative use of technology in the remote teaching and learning environment. Many faculty will continue to incorporate some remote or asynchronous content in their courses while using in-person time to its fullest advantage. A modest number of courses will be offered fully online if the course objectives and demand for high-quality student engagement can be supported in that modality. Most high-touch first-year, laboratory, and performance-based courses will be offered fully in-person.

The Office of the Registrar has updated the “Class Modality” notations in the  eCampus/CourseAvail  system to provide students with specifics about the method of instruction that faculty have planned for each course. The “Class Notes” section will be further updated by Tuesday, September 7, with more details on the class format. All undergraduate and graduate students may log on to eCampus/CourseAvail to check their schedule for any updates that may have been made to their fall classes and sections. Students will also be notified if one or more of their course modalities have changed since their initial registration in the class. Note: This does not apply to JST students who can find information about course modality in the GTU Course Schedule.

On September 14, registration will reopen for all undergraduate students to make changes to their schedule. Graduate students will be contacted by their respective graduate program office regarding any schedule changes. Please note the following:

• Late registration fees and Drop/Swap fees will be waived for the 2021-22 academic year.
• Pre-enrolled courses for first year undergraduate students are linked to Residential Learning Communities and cannot be changed. 
• International students on F-1 visas need to remain in compliance with immigration regulations (for undergraduates, no more than 1 online class can count towards the 12 unit minimum; for graduates, no more than 1 online class can count towards the 8 unit minimum). Questions about International Students and Scholars should be directed to iss@scu.edu.

Students will be granted fully remote access to in-person courses only in cases in which the student has a disability or medical need related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Requests for such accommodations must be directed to the Office of Accessible Education (OAE), and must be accompanied by appropriate documentation of the disability from a qualified professional. Additional details about the online registration process can be found at www.scu.edu/oae/prospective-students/.

 
The John B.Drahmann Academic Advising and Learning Resources Center (Kenna 101) will be open starting September 13. The Center will be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.  Academic advising appointments will be online. To set up an appointment visit the Drahmann Advising and Learning Resources Center website.

As always, tutoring is provided at no cost for numerous subjects including natural sciences, modern languages, Computer Science, and Economics. All tutors are currently enrolled undergraduate students. Appointment requests will be available beginning on Monday, September 20.  Visit the Drahmann Center - Tutoring website to schedule appointments, learn more about the program, and find links to other campus tutoring programs including the HUB Writing Center and the Math Learning Center.