December 18, 2021

Dear undergraduate students,

While Yale has not experienced the same increase in COVID rates as some other universities, we know that many of you are concerned about remaining on campus during the finals period. Although the risk of transmission during in-person examinations is small, we want you to be able to go home now. We have therefore made the difficult decision that beginning Sunday, there will be no more in-person exams this semester. Some instructors will offer remote exams at their scheduled times; others will offer make-up exams or alternative methods for completing the semester.

We want to emphasize that you are not required to leave campus early, but we encourage you to do so if you wish.

We recognize that this disruption comes at an already challenging moment in the semester. To make it as easy as possible for you to adjust your plans, we are offering the following options:

• If your instructor offers a remote exam at the regularly scheduled time, you may take that exam then or choose to postpone it as described below.
• If you need to postpone any academic work due to your travel disruptions—a synchronous exam, a take-home exam, a final paper, etc.—you may request and will receive this permission from your residential college dean; the temporary grade of TI or ABX will appear on your transcript.
• If your instructor offers the option to waive the final examination and base your final grade on work you have already submitted this semester, you will have the additional but non-reversible choice to accept that grade, to convert it to the grade of “CR” (which will not count against the regular limit on grades of Credit/D/Fail), or to request an ABX from your residential college dean and take the make-up as described above.
• If your instructor chooses to substitute an alternative assignment in lieu of the final exam, please follow those directions.

Please be alert to messages from your instructors so that you will know how to proceed. If you are taking a graduate or professional school course that is still holding an in-person exam, please contact your residential college dean to make arrangements.

If you receive financial aid, Yale College can help you with any change fees you incur as a result of leaving early. Please submit your receipts to SafetyNet using the “emergency travel” category.

If you do remain on campus until it closes, at noon on December 23, please continue to maintain your testing, masking, and social distancing practices. Dining halls will continue to serve grab-and-go meals; residential colleges have closed their gyms.

Many of you have expressed concern about plans for the spring semester. Classes are still scheduled to begin on Tuesday, January 18. We are hopeful that we will be able to begin the semester in person, but in light of the rapidly changing public health conditions, we ask you to plan for the possibility that some or all activities will take place remotely at the outset of the semester. Please make sure that you pack accordingly (books, electronics, medications, etc.). If you have not done so already, get your booster shot; remember you must have one before returning to campus.

With best wishes in uncertain times,

Marvin Chun
Dean of Yale College

Tamar Szabó Gendler
Dean, Faculty of Arts and Sciences

Lynn Cooley
Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences