This week, Baylor President Linda Livingstone announced the University’s intentions to reopen campus to students in the fall.
Alongside the University’s COVID-19 task force, the deans and academic leadership, and local government and public health officials, the President’s Council has been working on a five-phase strategy for reopening campus, which would begin with the return of important infrastructure and research support staff on June 1st and conclude with the return of students near the start of the fall semester. Livingstone did note that this plan will be data-driven and dependent on the progression of COVID-19 in Waco, but she remains hopeful that students will be able to return.
In the coming months, the University plans to adapt its instructional and residential life models as well as its plans for on-campus activities in order to mitigate health risks while maintaining an on-campus college experience for its students.
Lori Fogleman of Baylor’s Office of Media and Public Relations released an additional statement on Monday, announcing the University’s decision to become a test-optional institution for the 2021 application cycle for incoming freshman.
Rather than requiring that students submit SAT or ACT scores as a part of their application for admission, the University will admit first-year students in the class of 2021 via a “holistic review process” that will also be adapted for scholarships, major-specific entrance requirements, and prerequisites.
The University made this decision after gathering input from “across student support offices, all academic units and the Office of the Provost,” deeming it necessary due to the disruption of standardized testing availability for high school students in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Decisions on the role of testing for the class of 2022 will be made next spring.
With KWBU News, I’m Sam Cedar.