Skip to main content
Menu Search & Directory
Close
Close

Campus Status, Plans and Safeguards

COVID-19 Planning

Fall 2021

Saint Louis University enjoyed uninterrupted, in-person, on-campus instruction for the 20-21 academic year and expects even more of a return to normalcy for the fall '21 semester. Whether you are a prospective student or parent, or already part of the Billiken family, we know this is of crucial importance to you. 

In the words of University President Fred P. Pestello, Ph.D., extensive human connection makes an on-campus Saint Louis University experience a life-changing one. In light of the broad vaccine availability that promises to only get better, we have begun planning for as normal a fall semester as possible, where we are back to operating largely face-to-face.

Having a fully-vaccinated community means all of us — people who are fully vaccinated, partially vaccinated or who are granted a University-approved exemption from vaccination — can work, study, teach, research, minister, dine and socialize without face masks and social distancing.. In fall 2021, we envision:

  • Full classrooms and labs
  • In-person study groups and advising
  • Guest lectures
  • Events, retreats, concerts and other typical campus social gatherings

Summer 2021

SLU COVID-19 Toolbox

Saint Louis University nurse in a mask giving a vaccine to a patient in the arm
Read More
Inoculation Information
SLU and COVID-19 Vaccination

Learn about how SLU's COVID-19 vaccination requirement, requests for exemption and how you can receive your inoculation.

Female student in a mask at a terminal in Pius Memorial Library
Read More
Policies and Procedures
Responding to COVID-19

Find the latest information on policies and procedures at SLU related to COVID-19.

Two employees collaborating on a whiteboard
Read More
Returning to Work
Guidance for Managers, Staff, Chairs and Faculty

There is an increased need to have faculty, staff and student workers on campus. Find SLU's resources to work on campus safely.

Planning for Fall 2021

A working group of faculty, students, and staff developing recommendations for the kinds of changes that will allow campus to operate as closely to normal as possible next fall. 

Assuming the social distancing safeguard is reduced by public health authorities to 3 feet or less, courses for undergraduate students will be taught — and students will be expected to attend — in person, unless exceptions have been granted and/or a strategic decision has been made to offer specific courses online.  (This does not include courses traditionally delivered online through the School for Professional Studies, which will continue uninterrupted in that format.)

Messages on the topic of fall 2021 are expected to be sent to the SLU community every two-to-three weeks going forward. 

See the Latest COVID-19 Messages from SLU

Requesting to Learn or Teach Fully Online Next Fall

As SLU prepares to operate as normally as possible in-person this fall, a working group comprised of students, faculty and staff has identified three groups of people who may require COVID-19-specific considerations for course delivery:

  1.  You have a medical condition that prevents you from being on campus safely next fall.
  2. You are an international student who will be unable to come to the U.S. for in-person classes due to travel restrictions and/or visa challenges.
  3. You have some other COVID-19-specific circumstance that prevents your being on campus at all during the fall semester (e.g., childcare responsibilities due to COVID-19 school restrictions, other caregiving responsibilities for a member of your household due to COVID-19, and other COVID-19-related situations).

If you are in one of these three categories, you must apply for an exception for the fall semester. (This process pertains to courses delivery/faculty and students only and does not apply to staff.)

Students who need to be online for a short-term/temporary reason (i.e., due to contracting COVID-19, bereavement leave, or other short-term situations) do not need to request an exception. Those absences will be handled as they normally would be, through your instructors, your dean’s office, the Dean of Students, etc. Students enrolled in in-person classes are expected to attend class in person, as they normally would.

Deadlines to Request Exemption

  • Medical exceptions: July 9 
  • International exceptions: July 25 
  • Other exceptions: July 9

Learn More

Course Modality/Schedule/Registration Changes

If we are able to return most classes to in-person instruction, it will mean some changes for fall course offerings, including modality changes and student schedule adjustments. Although we still don’t have final answers about which courses will change, we can tell you what we know now:

  • Courses currently scheduled as in-person will continue to be offered in person, on the published days/times. (Locations are subject to change.)
  • Courses currently scheduled as synchronous online will likely convert to in-person classes on the published days/times (unless the instructor is approved for an exception to teach fully online). For instructors approved for an exception to teach fully online, these courses will likely convert to asynchronous online, in alignment with the previously announced expectation that fully online courses should be taught asynchronously and in alignment with the University’s Online Course Design rubric (though these courses are not required to undergo peer review for fall).
  • Courses currently scheduled as asynchronous online will likely convert to in-person classes — unless an instructor has been approved for an exception to teach fully online. The days/times for these courses will be based on instructor schedule and classroom availability. We expect to have updated course listings later this summer. 
  • Courses currently listed as A/B, in-person will likely convert back to regular courses, where students attend both A and B class meetings. The published days/times will remain in place. (Locations are subject to change.)

Learn More

SPOTLIGHT ON SLU COVID-19 RESEARCH

Virus Cell

As the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to cause disruptions across the country, more than 40 student and faculty researchers from 20 departments at Saint Louis University are studying the pandemic and its broader effects.

Learn More