SDSU ANNOUNCES IN-PERSON COMMENCEMENT AND FALL 2021 INSTRUCTION

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By Angela Kurysh

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia user Geographer

April 11, 2021 (San Diego) – Things are looking brighter for the San Diego State community now that the county has shifted to the Orange Tier. As of last week, the SDSU Commencement Committee confirmed via email that the Spring 2021 commencement ceremony will be conducted in-person for those that choose to register. The graduation ceremonies will be held on May 25-27 at Petco Park Stadium in downtown. For those that choose not to attend, SDSU will also provide a virtual ceremony. Both options will be available to the graduating classes of 2020 and 2021.

More information on ticketing and guest allowances will be announced on Monday, April 12th, when registration opens. Students will receive emails to register along with the opportunity to create a custom graduate slide. In order to follow the current reopening guidelines in California, the university needs to estimate the number of in-person attendees. This will allow them to decide on the guest limit per graduate. For more updates on the commencement ceremony and tentative schedule, visit the SDSU Commencement website

 

Looking even further into the future, as of Wednesday, April 7th, university leaders announced the school is planning to offer primarily in-person instruction for the Fall 2021 semester, as opposed to the previously planned hybrid model. Additionally, on-campus housing will also be reopened to thousands of students now that California Governor, Gavin Newsom announced plans to fully reopen the economy on June 15th.

 

On Tuesday Newsom shared, “I want kids back in school safely for in-person instruction. On June 15, we anticipate there will be no barrier to getting all of our kids safely back, not just K-12, community colleges, including institutions of higher learning.” 

 

For students who plan on returning to campus for classes, no specific requirements and guidelines besides a mask mandate have been announced, however, the university is monitoring county guidelines closely to establish safe and effective policies. According to a campus-wide email, some of these policies potentially include proof of vaccination, continued COVID-19 testing and contact tracing, testing on-arrival, wastewater testing, enhanced cleaning protocols and the provision of isolation/quarantine housing. 

 The email also mentioned how SDSU’s Love Library will partially reopen on May 24th and registration for the Fall 2021 semester will begin May 25th. While the community has mixed feelings about the safety of reopening and going back to in-person instruction, university president, Adela de la Torre, Provost Salvador Hector Ochoa, Vice President J. Luke Wood and Associated Students President Christian Holt are all confident in the transition and remain optimistic about students returning to campus in the fall.


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