Fall 2020 Decisions

Dear Students,

Thank you for your patience as we worked to prepare for your arrival this fall. It is with excitement and optimism that we share our current plans for reopening Concordia University Texas for our Fall 2020 semester.

While the changes we will experience on campus will be a bit of an adjustment to us all, the elements that remain unchanged are our CTX spirit of community and our mission of preparing leaders for lives of service.

This email contains a lot of very important information. Please review the contents of this message and contact us directly with any questions you may have.

We plan to physically reopen the campus — and be flexible if we need to shift to fully virtual.

As you plan for your arrival in the fall, anticipate an on-campus semester, and yet know that Concordia University Texas is flexible. We are focused first and foremost on student success while keeping our students and community healthy. Know that every aspect of how the University operates is being evaluated, and we will continue to make and update decisions that are in the best interest of our campus community.

We are a nimble institution and will shift to a fully virtual environment if the need arises. With a long and successful history of virtual education, we are confident in our ability to transition to a fully virtual format should conditions require it at any point in the semester.

Specific details about how the physical campus will work will be sent to you no later than August 1.

Students have a choice to attend physically or virtually.

Concordia is very excited to introduce a Hybrid-Flexible (HyFlex) model that allows students the option of participating in the course in person or virtually.

The HyFlex model is a student-focused method, where the student and instructor collaborate in a flexible teaching and learning environment, whether on campus or virtually. The class is structured so that course objectives can be met in both ways. It is the student’s decision which way to participate in the class, and faculty will support students regardless of whether on campus or virtual learning.

You will receive specific information in each course's syllabus.

Academic Calendar

Our academic calendar remains the same. There is no plan to change dates. The following is a list of important dates you need to know:

• EnRoute: August 12-13
• Embark!: August 20-21
• First Day of Fall Classes: August 24
• Final Day of Fall Classes: December 13

Move-in Dates:

• August 10-14: Residential students may drop off belongings in their room (by appointment)
• August 19-20: First year student move in (by appointment)
• August 21-22: Returning student move in (by appointment)
• Residential students who may need to make other arrangements should contact the Office of Residential Life at residentiallife@concordia.edu

Housing

At this time, Concordia is not making any changes to our Residence Hall room plan. We are honoring all current requests for housing and are still able to accept new requests as well.

The University will continue to evaluate both the need to accommodate on-campus housing requests and the public health scenarios, and we will make adjustments as necessary. As always, we will keep the health and safety of all of our students a priority, in addition to their educational needs.

Physical Spaces

We continue to collaborate with Austin Public Health and are designing safety protocols for all of our spaces on campus. We are increasing our cleaning processes, refiguring classrooms for proper social distancing, designing traffic flow, etc.

We plan to require everyone to wear face masks, except in activities where it is prohibitive to the learning experience (sports, playing musical instruments, eating, etc.) or when alone in an individual office or workspace. Masks will be available for purchase in the CTX bookstore, or students may provide their own.

We are so excited to welcome you to campus this fall. Our goal is to provide you with the full Concordia University Texas experience while keeping health and safety at the forefront of our decisions. We will continue to update you on decisions throughout the summer.

Please do not hesitate to reach out with questions you may have by emailing us at studentcentral@concordia.edu. 

Blessings,

Kristi Kirk, Provost & Executive Vice President