The changes keep coming for students at the University of Nevada, Reno. This week UNR President Brian Sandoval announced the five-day spring break week in 2021, which was canceled in a round of scheduling changes announced in October, would be replaced with four “reading days” and a fifth non-instructional day.
The changes are part of the campus’s response to COVID-19 and efforts to reduce on-campus spread of the virus.
In an email to students, staff and faculty, Sandoval said the latest changes were made to reduce some of the impacts of what’s anticipated to be a challenging semester. Instruction begins Jan. 25, 2021—one week later than usual—and without spring break was slated to run continuously into May and the close of the school year.
“Our ‘Reading Days,’ although they do not constitute a complete spring break, will nonetheless provide the people of our campus community with five needed days of mental and physical respite as we face the continuing challenges of COVID-19,” Sandoval wrote.
The “reading days” are intended as days for students to study and work on special projects with no class commitments for the day. For faculty, they’re a sort of catch-up day to prepare for instruction or complete professional development. The non-instructional day coincides with Washoe County School District’s spring break.
The planned non-instructional day is March 24, 2021. “Reading days” are:
• Thursday, February 25, 2021
• Tuesday, March 9, 2021
• Wednesday, March 10, 2021
• Wednesday, April 21, 2021
