Columbia releases more details about course modalities and registration for Spring 2021.

Vice President Kane wrote to CC, SEAS, and GS students to inform them of new guidelines for their enrollment intentions earlier tonight. As course registration for the Spring 2021 semester begins next Tuesday, December 1, students will be required to indicate whether they will be taking the course on-campus, on-line, or in a hybrid modality. These choices will assist faculty in designing their courses, as well as indicating classroom requirements for in-person classes, and Dean Kane underscored the importance of collecting the most accurate information possible. Dean Kane also stated that students will be able to search for classes in the catalog based on their method of instruction.

Email from Barry S. Kane, Associate Vice President and University Registrar:

Dear Students:

I write regarding the upcoming initial period of registration for the spring 2021 term that is scheduled to begin next week on Tuesday, December 1st. You’ll recall that you were recently notified that the opening of registration would be delayed to early December in order to provide our Faculty and their academic departments with the time necessary to identify and specify how courses will be offered this spring – whether In-Person, On-Line Only, or Hybrid. When you access the Directory of Classes and Vergil beginning on Tuesday, December 1st, these Methods of Instruction will be displaying for spring course offerings. You will also be able to search for courses based on their Method of Instruction in order to enhance your course planning.

Like we did last summer for the fall 2020 term, you will again be required to specify how you intend to enroll in each course on your spring schedule that is being offered in a Hybrid mode – that is, whether you anticipate taking the course On-Campus or On-Line. Providing the Faculty and the Registrar’s Office with your Enrollment Intentions will inform how instructors structure and teach their courses. And, the information that you provide will substantially matter in terms of assigning every Hybrid course to an appropriately-sized and equipped classroom.

Please think seriously about your Enrollment Intentions before specifying them as part of your course registration and enrollment for the spring term. The more accurate this information is that we receive from you, the more successful our Faculty will be in structuring and designing their courses to meet student needs — and the better their classroom assignments will be. By “better,” I mean that the classrooms will be appropriately sized and tailored to the extent possible to accommodate In-Person enrollment.

I am grateful for your cooperation, and I look forward to opening the spring term with you.

Yours,

Barry

Barry S. Kane

Associate Vice President and University Registrar

Columbia University in the City of New York

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