COVID-19

Beginning Thursday, Oct. 8, Grinnell will be a TestIowa Higher Education site, located at the Grinnell Public Health building and available to Grinnell College faculty, staff, students, and members of their direct households.

Our revised residency model for the 2020-21 academic year is built around class years and implications for many areas of our program.

Fall Term 1 classes will be offered remotely and the arrival of first-year and transfer students will be delayed in an effort to further limit the number of students on campus.

At this time, we are going to pause on sending additional invitations to study and live on campus for the second fall term (F2), scheduled to begin Oct. 22. We will remain paused until we can better understand the repercussions of these rapidly changing circumstances and new public health guidance.

The time that most of our students—and students across the country—will spend on campuses this year will be unusual, but we are planning new avenues for social connectedness and engagement for and between students who are on campus and those enrolled online.

Acting President Anne Harris answers many questions in a video about the coming Fall 2020 term.

Grinnell athletic teams will not compete against other colleges during the first fall term.

The next academic year will consist of four 7.5-week terms, with an optional summer term. We are planning for a low-density campus this fall, with a minimum starting number of between 500 - 600 students for the first term. There will be in-person and distance class offerings each term.

For the 2020-21 admission cycle Grinnell College will adopt a test optional admission policy.

We cannot expect a traditional academic year in 2020-21 as we build an academic experience within a public health framework. It will be a year of change and adaptation as we seek to manage the number of students, faculty, and staff on campus at a given time and to create as safe a campus environment as possible. We know that no matter how carefully we plan, we must be prepared to exercise flexibility and agility.