Updated January 22, 2021
Here you’ll find answers to questions of broad interest about the 2020-21 academic year.
How to Ask Questions & Raise Concerns
Updated January 22, 2021
Here you’ll find answers to questions of broad interest about the 2020-21 academic year.
How to Ask Questions & Raise Concerns
In each semester of the academic year, three classes of Yale College (undergraduate) students will be living on campus or off campus in New Haven, and one class will be studying remotely from home. All graduate and professional students may return to campus for the entire academic year. All students must sign the Yale Community Compact as a condition for returning to campus.
Fall 2020
Undergraduates in the first-year class, and juniors and seniors, were invited back to campus for the fall semester. Juniors and seniors may remain in residence throughout the academic year, except for a quiet period from November 21, 2020, to January 2021, when students are expected to return home if possible.
Graduate and professional students were invited to return at any time prior to the start of the fall term. Most graduate and professional students live off campus; housing for those living on campus opened on August 1.
Spring 2021
The university announced on October 6 that spring classes will begin on February 1 for most schools, including Yale College. Graduate and professional school students as well as sophomores, juniors, and seniors are invited back to campus for the spring semester. First-year students may not study on campus, but are encouraged to enroll remotely.
Students may elect to study from home. They will be charged full tuition but will not be charged room and board, and will receive financial aid based on the cost of attendance for remote learners. Those studying from home may continue to work remotely on research projects and other activities. In order to reduce travel and density on campus, they will not be permitted entry to campus buildings.
Undergraduate Students
Sophomores, juniors, and seniors may declare a leave of absence for one or two terms, just as they would in any other semester. Leaves in 2020-2021 will not count toward the usual two-term limit on leaves.
First-year students may take a leave of absence for the spring semester or may request to postpone their matriculation until fall 2021 (i.e., take a gap year).
We recommend that you explore all your options before deciding to take a leave or postpone your matriculation. Students on leave or a gap year will not be permitted to take a campus job, even remotely.
Graduate and Professional Students
Leave of absence and deferral policies vary from school to school within Yale. Please contact your school for relevant guidance.
We are working hard to assist international students in getting their visas, but we recognize that many international students may be unable to return to campus. Most schools have online options for those unable to attend the first month of classes. Some programs are available online for the whole semester. Students with specific questions about this issue should seek answers from the office of the relevant school dean. New students should consult the OISS FAQ for Newly Admitted Students for updated information about visa issues and travel concerns.
The university must follow guidance from the State of Connecticut; to the degree that the state’s guidance changes, Yale may be required to change its own plans. See https://portal.ct.gov/coronavirus.
If the public health situation in Connecticut, in New Haven, or on campus worsens considerably during the fall semester, students should be prepared to follow the university’s and public health authorities’ instructions, which may include “staying-in-place” in their place of residence, whether residential colleges, other on-campus residences, or off-campus apartments. For those with meal plans, the university will continue to provide meals during a stay-in-place period. Classes would be held exclusively online.
Most Yale College courses are being offered online, featuring live Zoom seminars and a mix of live and recorded lectures. The faculty and staff are working hard to provide the best possible courses online, incorporating feedback from last semester’s and this summer’s online courses.
Some discussion sections, lab courses, studio courses, and collections-based courses are being offered in person, with smaller enrollments to allow for physical distancing and observance of all other precautions under public health guidance in force at the time programs start.
Where possible, there may be some associated in-person component for courses that take place in an otherwise online fashion.
Decisions on teaching in the graduate and professional schools were made made by individual departments and schools. Most programs are being offered by dual delivery, with a mixture of remote and in-person experiences. Each school has a specific return-to-campus plan; details are being provided by each school’s dean.
We encourage faculty who are over age 65, and faculty or teaching fellows who have underlying health conditions, to teach from home.
Faculty and teaching fellows who choose to teach from home for other reasons may also do so, in coordination with their department chairs and deans.
Please refer to the COVID-19 Childcare Resources webpage for more information.
If you are not asked to return to campus and are able to work from home, the current assumption is that you will continue to work remotely until at least April 30, 2021. If you are unable to work from home, Yale will strive to provide alternate work assignments consistent with the workplace guidance issued on July 1.
Please visit the Health Guidelines page for information about testing.
Staff required to self-isolate due to COVID exposure or diagnosis should continue to work remotely, if able. If unable, individuals will continue to receive pay for business days within the quarantine period of up to 10 calendar days (7 calendar days with a negative test result). After the period of isolation ends, the employee will be required to return to campus, if the work can only be performed on campus. Should the absence continue for more than 10 days, use of accrued paid time off is permitted. Individuals in this situation may also apply for a leave of absence with The Standard (call 203-432-5552, press option #4)
Governor Lamont issued a travel advisory directing individuals returning to Connecticut from states with high rates of positive coronavirus rates to self-quarantine for a 10-day period. Please regularly check the State of Connecticut’s website for an updated list of states. We strongly encourage staff members to avoid traveling to any state included in the Governor’s travel advisory or any future additions to it. If a staff member who is required to work on campus chooses to travel to a restricted state, they will be expected to self-quarantine consistent with the Governor’s order and will have to use their allotment of paid time off (i.e. vacation, PTO) during this period. Health care staff and staff working in essential functions should check in with their supervisors for more information.
Visit the “Workplace Guidance FAQs” on the It’s Your Yale website.
Yale began reactivating on-campus research on June 1. Following guidelines from the State of Connecticut and the expert advice of Yale faculty in medicine, nursing, and public health, the university has developed phased returning-to-Yale plans that include testing, contact tracing, isolation and quarantine, daily health checks, social distancing, and mask-wearing. We have also reduced housing density in Yale College and dormitory-style graduate residences. The university is following a careful, phased approach to resuming operations on campus, taking into consideration public health guidance, the needs of vulnerable populations, and the mission of the university.
Faculty at Yale and at Yale New Haven Hospital have been active in treating COVID-19 and researching the biology and transmission of the underlying coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2. Although Connecticut was originally one of the hardest-hit states, the rate of transmission (Rt) in the state as of July 1 is below 1, and as a result the number of new cases has fallen.
For more details about Yale’s extensive health policies, protocols, and guidance, visit the Health Guidelines page.
We recommend that students with health conditions that make them especially vulnerable to COVID-19 consider remote options for study. Yale staff should consult the “Accommodations for Staff Returning to Campus” page or contact the Employee Service Center. Faculty should refer to the first question in the Faculty and Staff section on this page.
See guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
All returning students, faculty, staff, and trainees are required to follow public health requirements in place at the time in-person activity resumes. Please review the details on the Health Guidelines page.
Yale has established a plan to ensure that all students, faculty, researchers, and staff receive a Returning to Yale kit, which includes the necessary masks/face coverings, hand sanitizers, and disinfectant wipes. Please refer to the Acquisition and Distribution of Returning to Yale Kits page for additional information, including pickup locations.
Yes, all students, trainees, faculty, staff, and visitors must wear masks except when in their own residential college suite or apartment, or alone in an office, or when eating. Wearing a mask is one of the most effective ways to prevent transmission of the coronavirus.
In general, people should stay six feet apart from others whenever possible, including in classrooms, communal living spaces, and other campus locations. People living in the same suite or apartment will be considered a “family unit,” and it is not necessary to maintain distance from suitemates.
Please refer to the Health Guidelines page for information about testing.
Those who test positive will generally be required to isolate for 10 days. Please refer to the Health Guidelines page for more information.
All faculty, students, and staff on campus must monitor their health every day for symptoms of COVID-19 through a Daily Health Check. If you have symptoms, please contact your health care provider or call the Campus COVID Resource Line at 203-432-6604.
Facilities is cleaning and disinfecting student shared bathrooms twice daily, seven days a week. Disinfecting wipes are also available for students to use before/after touching fixtures. Additionally, Facilities is cleaning and disinfecting community spaces once per day with a second disinfection of commonly-touched surfaces (doorknobs/handles, elevator buttons, handrails, arms of chairs, counters, tables, etc.) seven days a week.
Yes. Please visit the Yale Statistics page to see the latest testing numbers, positive cases, and the university’s alert level status. Most information is updated daily.
The university is limiting the size of gatherings both indoors and outside to accommodate physical distancing and conform to density guidelines and state rules. Classrooms and other common spaces will have reduced capacity. All who are gathered in groups of any size must wear masks and stay six feet away from each other.
The university has established requirements for university-sponsored events on or off campus. Please see the Events & Gatherings page for more information.
To view occupancy requirements and limits for both indoor and outdoor spaces on campus, please visit the Environmental Health & Safety website.
Yes. Yale Dining is operating with additional service locations, extended hours in some locations, and frequent cleaning and sanitizing. Packaged take-out meals, grab-and-go, and pre-ordered meals are available in all dining halls, with special provision for those with dietary restrictions and allergies.
Seating in college dining halls is reduced in order to provide physical distancing, but additional seating is being provided in common rooms, courtyards, and other locations. Because of reduced capacity, seating within dining halls is limited to college residents.
Access to all Yale libraries is currently limited to faculty, graduate students, and professional students who are authorized to be on campus.
The Yale University Art Gallery and Yale Center for British Art are temporarily closed to visitors. The collections of the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History are closed for a multi-year renovation and expansion, but the museum is accessible by appointment.
Payne Whitney Gymnasium is open with limits on capacity in order to preserve physical distancing. Only students are permitted to use the gym. An online reservation system is in place to reserve times in Israel Fitness Center, the 3rd floor pool, and group exercise classes. No walk-ins are permitted; all users must have a reserved time.
Gyms in residential colleges will be closed until further notice.
On November 12, 2020, the Ivy League announced that it is canceling winter sports and postponing its spring sports.
Campus is open to juniors and seniors living off campus who are enrolled as in-residence students. In order to reduce travel and on-campus density, first-years and sophomores will not have access to the campus during the semesters in which they are enrolled remotely.
Graduate and professional students living off campus or in Yale Housing who are enrolled as in-residence students have access to the parts of campus normally open to them, such as their own school, the campus libraries, most classroom buildings, the main gym, and common spaces, among others.
Yale is using your badge data to:
Yes, most facilities on campus are open with physical distancing in force. While the weather is good, we encourage you to use outdoor spaces, as the risk of transmission of the coronavirus is lower outdoors.
Visits to campus by people who are not Yale students, faculty, or staff are strictly limited. Please see our Visitors Policy page to learn more.
All members of the Yale community are discouraged from dining inside restaurants in favor of food pickup and delivery.
Travel outside of Connecticut is discouraged for faculty and staff for the duration of this public health crisis. Undergraduates may travel only for emergencies or with approval from their residential college deans’ offices for travel that is essential for educational or personal reasons. The university strongly urges graduate and professional students to limit their travel. Everyone should wear masks or other face coverings and practice social distancing to the greatest extent possible while traveling.
To reduce the risk of importing COVID-19, the Governor’s Executive Order 9S provides that a traveler to Connecticut from outside the United States or from a U.S. state or territory other than New York, New Jersey, or Rhode Island must quarantine for 10 days following their arrival. Learn more about state requirements and Yale’s travel policies by visiting the Travel Guidelines page.
All managers are strongly encouraged to contact their HR Generalist to consult about workplace planning. If you do not know who your HR Generalist is, please consult the Human Resources Generalist website.
Campus COVID Resource Line
203-432-6604 or 866-924-9253
Available seven days a week, 8 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Employees with specific questions should consult with their deans, managers, or the Employee Service Center at 203-432-5552. Employees may also email their questions at any time to employee.services@yale.edu.
Yes. A member of the Yale community who has a concern about compliance with COVID-19 health and safety policies or regulations may raise that concern in one of two ways. First, a community member who feels comfortable doing so may report a concern to their supervisor, their human resources representative, or a supervising faculty member. Second, a community member may make an anonymous or identified report through the University Hotline. The hotline is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
University policy prohibits retaliation against community members who in good faith report possible violations of Yale policy, including possible violations of health and safety standards related to COVID-19.
If you are unable to access a building, it may be related to a failure to meet Yale’s Community Commitments, such as routine testing or completion of training. For questions about your own compliance, including whether your lockout is compliance-related, contact your Health and Safety Leader (HSL). For units without a designated HSL, contact your Lead Administrator (LA). HSLs and LAs can provide guidance on how to regain access.
Please note: Public Safety is unable to support you with lockout services for compliance-related lockouts.
Students who have questions about the advisability and frequency of additional asymptomatic testing may call the COVID Campus Resource Line, which is staffed by health care professionals, at 203-432-6604.