Asha Prihar

Months after Yale first moved classes online in light of the coronavirus pandemic, the University’s academic calendar outlines a fall semester with slight changes, although it remains undecided if students will return to campus at the beginning of the semester.

Yale College and Graduate School of Arts and Science classes will start on Aug. 31 — two days earlier than originally scheduled — and are slated to end on Dec. 4. Fall break, which typically runs for several days in mid-October, will be eliminated. And all activities after Thanksgiving break will be online, including reading period and final examinations.

In a community-wide announcement Thursday afternoon, University Provost Scott Strobel wrote that these changes will be made “to maximize the possibility of having students in residence this fall.”

It is still unclear if students will begin the fall semester in-person. But if this does happen, Strobel wrote in his email that students will be required to limit travel to and from the New Haven area and observe social distancing, among other measures.

The changes were confirmed by Faculty of Arts and Sciences Dean Tamar Gendler, who told the News in an email that the modifications to the typical academic calendar were meant “to ensure a robust educational experience for students and to maximize the possibility of having an residential experience for undergraduates this fall.”

Gendler also told the News that the calendar was developed by the Academic Continuity Committee, one of several contingency planning groups created in recent weeks to deal with the possibilities surrounding the fall.

This is a breaking story. Check back later for updates.

Matt Kristoffersen | matthew.kristoffersen@yale.edu