​As announced in January of this year, the University of Northern Colorado (UNC) is planning to return to a comprehensive, on-campus experience for the fall 2021 semester that will include a full schedule of in-person courses and restoring activities and events, allowing students to enjoy experiential learning, campus life and community engagement opportunities. 

“As students and their families consider academic plans for the fall, it is important for them to know UNC is planning to return to a more normal operating schedule, much like what we had prior to the start of the pandemic,” said UNC President Andy Feinstein. “The traditional college experience provides unparalleled opportunities – inside and outside of the classroom. I look forward to having our entire community return, resulting in a vibrant campus with all activities and events restored. Our efforts preparing for the fall semester are focused on the long-term success of our students and the health and safety of our entire campus community.”

Prospective students can apply to UNC through the university’s Bear App or through the Common App. Financial aid, scholarships and other programs are available for eligible students.  

What the fall 2021 semester at UNC will look like: 

Academic Instruction 

• The fall 2021 academic calendar will proceed as normal with classes beginning on August 23. 
• Majority of courses will be taught in a traditional, face-to-face format. A small percent of courses will be offered online or a mixed format (combining in-person and online delivery). 
• Classrooms and other spaces on-campus will return to pre-COVID occupancy but will follow guidance from local and state public health authorities. 

Student Engagement: 

• Housing: UNC's residence halls and university housing will return to nearly full capacity.  
• Dining: Dining facilities will continue to offer a variety of dining options for students and plan to increase in-person dining location options across campus. 
• Resources and Assistance in All Areas: Academic, health, social activity and more will return to a more traditional delivery in terms of serving students in person. This includes the Counseling Center, Tutorial Services, Cultural Centers, Student Organizations and Clubs, Bear Central, Campus Recreation and more. 
• Events: UNC will welcome students back to campus with a week full of fun, in-person events during Bear Welcome including Taste of UNC and Bear Fest, RecFest and Athletics events. The plan is to host events similar to pre-pandemic times unless state restrictions compel being outside. 

Allowing students to experience a more traditional college lifestyle is a priority for UNC. Students benefit from such an experience in terms of making life-long friends, discovering a sense of community and being inspired academically, intellectually, socially and emotionally. The university thrives in supporting students first while they pursue their academic goals at UNC and beyond.  

The health and safety of our students, faculty and staff is our highest priority. We are working closely with state officials to monitor developments related to COVID-19 and will continue to take preventative measures including increased cleaning of campus buildings, mask wearing, social distancing requirements and more. 

No known exposures or positive cases stemmed from in-person classes in 2020 at UNC, indicating that classroom settings are a safe environment for students and employees. It has been UNC’s policy to have students and faculty members always wear masks while on-campus and maintain a six-foot distance from one another during in-person classes or essential activities. 

At this time, UNC’s mask policy is expected to remain in effect throughout the fall semester as well as other public health guidelines including social distancing. As the pandemic is a constantly changing situation, UNC remains flexible in adapting to new public health guidelines as they become available as well as focused on giving students a memorable experience, one that celebrates their addition to the Bear family. 

Visit UNC’s Fall 2021 website for more information  

—Written by Katie Corder