(Photo: Caleb Minear on Unsplash)
An increasing number of Midwest colleges have canceled spring break due to travel-related concerns during the pandemic.
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign announced Tuesday that spring break was canceled and the 2021 spring semester would be delayed a week.
“We would prefer to follow our regular academic calendar, including having spring break,” Chancellor Robert J. Jones said in a release. “But health and safety remain our top priority. We believe these precautions are necessary to maximize the safety of our entire community.”
Several other universities are following similar guidelines.
Southern Illinois University in Carbondale canceled theirs and will also start their spring semester a week later on Jan. 19. Northern Illinois University in DeKalb cut theirs and will instead end their spring semester one week earlier.
Beth Ingram, Executive Vice President and Provost at NIU, said the changes would help reduce travel-related exposure but also allow for breaks in the semester to recharge.
Western Illinois University in Macomb decided in September to cancel theirs and end the spring semester one week earlier.
Other schools such as Ohio State University, University of Iowa, University of Wisconsin-Madison and University of Michigan have also canceled the break.
Texas A&M University, University of Kentucky and Syracuse University plan to cancel their breaks.
“The idea is to compress the academic calendar and to encourage students to stay on campus as much as possible, once they arrive at UK for the spring semester,” a statement from the University of Kentucky reads.