Academic Calendar Shifts for Fall 2020 Semester at SUNY Canton

Canton, NY (05/04/2020) — SUNY Canton has moved its start date one week later for the fall 2020 semester to prepare for any continuing eventualities related to COVID-19.

Fall classes will begin Aug. 27, according to SUNY Canton President Zvi Szafran. The former academic calendar scheduled Aug. 20 as the first day of classes and was among the earliest start dates in the country. The decision will provide more time to increase the probability for an in-person on-campus Fall semester and allow for an expanded recruitment season.

"We are working closely with both our local public health officials and the State University of New York to determine when it will be best to resume in-person instruction," Szafran said.

"Regardless of how things evolve over the summer, SUNY Canton is committed and ready to provide the best possible educational and campus life experience for its students."

The college's leadership is currently evaluating several scenarios for Fall 2020, including a traditional semester with face-to-face classes, an online and in-person hybrid, and a completely online term, as well as several other formats.

"While our strong preference is for our students to be able to return to campus, safety is critical," Szafran said. "We have not made any final decisions about the Fall 2020 semester at this time. We are planning for multiple possibilities and given our tremendous track record of both hands-on applied and high-quality online learning, we are ready for any eventuality during these uncertain times."

SUNY Canton's popular Summer Session courses have been offered primarily online for many years and will continue, as normal, this year. Summer Session begins May 28. Approximately 1000 students are expected to enroll in courses during the three sessions, which last from four to eight weeks each.

The College has presented high-quality online courses since 1999 and currently has hundreds of classes spanning each discipline. Its first fully online program, Healthcare Management, began during the 2004-2005 academic year, and is the largest of 21 different programs available through SUNY Canton OnLine.

During a typical college semester (similar to Fall 2019), about 70 percent of students take courses face-to-face, while 30 percent participate online. The college also offers Flex classes, which allow students the flexibility of switching from face-to-face to online and back as their needs and circumstances may require.

"We understand that many of our students and the greater community have questions about our plans moving forward," Szafran said. "We promise that we will share additional information as soon as possible."