Dear Students,

During the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, in order to determine the method of education for the Fall Semester of 2020-2021 academic year, comprehensive data have been collected by working together with all our academic departments, and various decisions have been made. This process of decision-making has been carried out while the priority was given to the well-being of students and faculty members. Keeping up with the recommendations and guidance of both the Council of Higher Education and the Ministry of Health on the ever-changing conditions of the pandemic, our university has been working on the decisions regarding the dorms, cafeterias, means of public transportation, and areas for common use on campus in order to achieve a safe, healthy and sustainable environment in terms of the risk-free use of these public areas.

With all these considered, the university senate gathered on September 4, 2020 to determine the method of teaching for the Fall Semester of 2020-2021 academic year. It was decided unanimously by the senate that all the courses for the Fall semester are to be offered with methods of distance education and that, depending on the course of the pandemic, the courses which have applied class hours will be re-evaluated as to whether to give extra time for these class ours at the end of the semester.

Due to the decision made by the senate, all of the academic departments are required to use distance education methods while arranging all of the courses they offer for the Fall Semester. Whether it will be possible to have an extra period to have Face-to-Face classes or not will be under consideration in accordance with the course of the pandemic. Therefore, for the time being, it does not seem possible to plan the Fall semester for this academic year (2020-2021) with an extension of time for the end of the semester. Among the courses that are planned to be offered in the Fall semester, there are some courses that require applied sessions (hands-on lessons). It is not certain whether the applied sessions of these courses will be transferred to the Spring Semester (2020-2021) or to a separate time period in summer in 2021 because not only are there unpredictable changes concerning the pandemic, but also the investigations on the updates of the current systems have not been completed.  All of our faculty members and academic units will need to take all of these into account while planning their curricula and syllabi.

In the Fall semester of 2020-2021 academic year, during which the courses will be covered with methods of distance education and at the end of which the students will be given standard Letters Grades, it is essential that the faculty members that are teaching and the academic advisors be in a regular, supportive and healthy communication  with our students. Regarding this, since the spring semester of 2019-2020, we have been continuously working to improve our distance education processes. Announcements and developments on this issue can be reached through: https://its.metu.edu.tr/uzaktanegitim/

As it has always been the case at our university, our sole purpose is to continue providing high quality education even during this tenacious pandemic. As members of the METU family, we believe in the fact that with the support of our students, academic and non-academic staff, we will complete the Fall semester of 2020-2021 with cooperation and constructiveness worthy of our university. We wish you a healthy and successful semester.

Best wishes