The South Dakota Board of Regents has determined the spring academic calendars for the state’s universities will remain unchanged, despite a recent surge in coronavirus cases in the state.
The regents agreed Wednesday to maintain a spring semester with 77 class days starting Jan. 11 and ending May 7, the Argus Leade r reported.
The regents’ executive director Brian Maher says university and board officials initially thought about adjusting the semester in the wake of the pandemic, but that drew mixed reactions.
“We looked at proposals to adjust the start and end dates of the semester, as well as whether a spring break period was advisable. We weighed public health considerations and consulted with public health experts,” Maher stated. “There were pros and cons to all. Absent a clear preference for changing the calendar, we opted to recommend the regents maintain the spring semester schedule as originally adopted.”
Spring break will be March 8-12, and each university will observe official holidays on Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Presidents’ Day. No classes will be held on Good Friday.
The state reported 10 additional deaths Wednesday, along with 609 people infected with COVID-19. Over the last two weeks, the state has seen the nation’s second-highest number of cases per capita, with nearly 645 new cases per 100,000 people, according to Johns Hopkins researchers.
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