Doane adjusts fall semester schedule for its Crete campus

CRETE, NE — Doane University is joining a growing number of schools making adjustments to their academic calendars because of COVID-19.

Doane Provost Dr. Paul Savory announced Tuesday that fall semester classes offered on the school’s Crete campus will start on August 17th as planned, but will end November 25th.  There are no changes for classes offered through the Lincoln, Omaha and online programs.

In addition to ending before Thanksgiving, classes will be in session on Labor Day and the fall break planned for October 16-20 has been eliminated.

Savory says the changes are meant to ensure the health and wellness of the school community.

"It has been shown that travel can enhance the risk of someone contracting COVID-19," Savory said in a message to the school community. "One way to mitigate the spread of the virus during the fall semester is for students not to leave and return from breaks. By eliminating breaks, we can prevent hundreds of our students from leaving and returning to campus within the same time period. This will, in turn, put the university in a better position to operate safely and maintain the health and wellness of our students, faculty, and staff. “

Doane follows many major universities nationally and locally that have made similar adjustments. The University of Nebraska and Creighton will also end the fall semester before Thanksgiving.