Maryville College plans for in-person fall semester

March 13, 2021

Maryville College is planning to return to all in-person instruction and co-curricular experiences this coming fall.

The decision was shared by President Bryan F. Coker in a memo to current students on Sat., March 13. Coker shared that the recent decision is based on an improving condition of the COVID-19 pandemic in the region.

“The College reserves the right to change our Fall plans, should the pandemic situation not continue to improve; however, we are very optimistic about the prognosis for in-person instruction and programming for the 2021-2022 school year,” he stated in the memo.

To mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 virus on campus, Maryville College has limited its in-person classes and experiences during the 2020-2021 academic year. While some smaller classes have been able to meet in person in large classrooms or auditoriums with masking and social distancing requirements in place, larger classes have been delivered partially or completely online.

Student life has included on-campus living, dining and programming, although with policies and procedures aimed at reducing population densities and gatherings. Many co-curricular programs and services have been delivered using web-based technologies.

In the Saturday memo, Coker explained that athletic competition in fall 2021 would be dependent on NCAA Division III and USA South Athletic Conference policies and decisions. Athletic competition for the Scots resumed in January, following a fall sports postponement decision by the USA South due to the pandemic. Since January, spectators have been prohibited in indoor venues and limited at outdoor venues.

Members of the College’s COVID-19 Workgroup, who have been helping the College navigate the pandemic for a year, will continue to meet regularly and make recommendations based on CDC and state and local guidelines. Coker said the campus community should expect to see more information shared this summer regarding masking, physical distancing and other expectations for the fall semester.

In the memo, Coker urged the campus community to receive a COVID-19 vaccination, which he said would “substantially aid in promoting a safe and healthy campus environment.”

“I remain grateful for our community’s response to the unprecedented circumstances of COVID-19, and am immensely proud of the many in-person experiences we were able to offer this year,” he wrote. “We look forward to resuming all in-person instruction and programming for the Fall, which are undoubtedly the greatest strengths and true hallmarks of the Maryville College experience.”

Maryville College is a nationally-ranked institution of higher learning and one of America’s oldest colleges. For more than 200 years we’ve educated students to be giving citizens and gifted leaders, to study everything, so that they are prepared for anything — to address any problem, engage with any audience and launch successful careers right away. Located in Maryville, Tennessee, between the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the city of Knoxville, Maryville College offers nearly 1,200  students from around the world both the beauty of a rural setting and the advantages of an urban center, as well as more than 60 majors, seven pre-professional programs and career preparation from their first day on campus to their last. Today, our 10,000 alumni are living life strong of mind and brave of heart and are prepared, in the words of our Presbyterian founder, to “do good on the largest possible scale.”