The start date for the spring semester has been changed for the second time this year — moving from Feb. 15 to Feb. 11.

In a normal academic year, the spring semester begins in mid-January. Initially, this date was pushed to Feb. 15 with an end date of May 28 in an attempt to account for the combination of flu season and the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as to allow more time for the winter session. The new changes have in-person final exams ending on May 23, aiming to help students whose leases are scheduled to end before the last week of May.

Commencement for the class of 2021 will be held the week of May 12–16, 2021, before the final examination period. After initially being postponed, commencement for the class of 2020 has been rescheduled to May 8–9, 2021. Both will be held granted that New York state guidelines allow such gatherings. The number of tickets allotted per student will be limited for both.

Additionally, course registration has also been pushed. The schedule of classes as well as registration time tickets will be available on Dec. 2 on BU Brain. Registration itself will begin on Jan. 5. A delayed registration was created with the intention of giving students more time to prepare and gather more information on their current academic standings.

Following the same model as the fall, the spring semester has no breaks in between the first day of classes and the last day of final exam distribution. This model aims to minimize the number of students leaving campus and returning, limiting potential COVID-19 spread. Additionally, this allows for a shorter semester in duration.

Alysa Cheung, an undeclared freshman, said she was disappointed with the change in date for the start of the spring semester, as it conflicts with holidays and family traditions.

“The earlier date means that I can’t celebrate Lunar New Year with my family anymore, and it actually disappointed me a lot,” Cheung said. “This year, Lunar New Year is on Feb. 12, so the previous date of the semester starting on [Feb. 15] meant that I could celebrate at least the first day with my family. Now I can’t.”

However, Cheung said she was hopeful about the upcoming semester.

“I believe that it should not be as dangerous as it was during fall semester,” Cheung said. “As long as the school continues testing and monitoring the students before they dorm, maintain social distancing and cleaning, I believe we should be fine. I also hope that the school can take this semester and learn to make next semester safer and better.”

Anta Noor, a sophomore majoring in biology, said she was shocked to hear about the initial pushback and saw both positives and negatives in the situation.

“I’m fully remote for this semester and my intention was to go back the spring semester, which I assumed was going to start late January like last year,” Noor said. “I definitely understand [BU’s] notion to push back due to [COVID-19] cases rising faster during the colder months. However, the extended break definitely puts a strain on students who do not have the best living conditions.”

Laya Mathai, a sophomore majoring in biology, had a mixed reaction as well and said that the break conflicts with upcoming club activities.

“I work during breaks when I’m at home, so the positive is that I can work more before I have to focus on school again,” Mathai said. “But in terms of the club I’m a part of, the E-Board of [IISU (Indian International Student Union)], we would’ve had our biggest event, Tamasha, the first weekend of February. So one of the challenges we’ve had as a club is trying to figure how to put on a show later in the semester while also following social distancing guidelines.”