October 9, 2020 Update: COVID-19
Preliminary Spring 2021 Update
Dear Champlain Community:
As we are midway through the Fall 2020 semester, our team is working diligently to plan for Spring 2021. I want to share some initial updates to help each of you in your planning for the upcoming semester.
Please read the entire email below for details and important context. This message includes early decisions and thinking on the following topics:
As we are midway through the Fall 2020 semester, our team is working diligently to plan for Spring 2021. I want to share some initial updates to help each of you in your planning for the upcoming semester.
This message includes early decisions and thinking on the following topics, with details below:
- Academic Calendar
- Commencement
- Spring Housing
- Health & Safety
- Study Abroad
I’m extremely appreciative of the efforts of our entire community in following health and safety measures and supporting each other this fall. The commitment each of you made to the practices and habits designed to limit the transmission of COVID-19 in our community is working and I continue to be grateful and impressed by the efforts of our students, in particular. We need to remain vigilant and not let our success diminish our resolve over the coming months.
As we continue planning for the Spring 2021 semester, I am committed to sharing new decisions and information, while remaining focused on the health and safety of our community and the educational experience of our students this fall.
Sincerely,
Benjamin Ola. Akande, Ph.D.
President
SPRING 2021 UPDATE
Similar to the current semester, Champlain College will open for in-person teaching and learning in the spring, using the Flex-Hybrid model for delivery. We have learned a lot through the process of reopening our Burlington campus in August and are bringing that knowledge to this next phase of planning. We also recognize that the COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve. We must remain responsive to these changing conditions and the inherent differences between the fall and spring semesters—namely the impact of winter weather.
Academic Calendar
The semester will start remotely on January 25, following an extended winter break. Instruction will be fully virtual until February 8, when in-person instruction for those courses with a classroom-based course-design will begin. The semester will end on Friday, May 7. These modifications reflect guidelines from the State of Vermont to mitigate the risk of COVID-19.
Along with the other Vermont colleges, we will not have a Spring Break this year. We acknowledge the significant impact this will have on our faculty and students. Spring Break is a critical time for rest and planning before heading into the intense final weeks of the semester and we recognize what the loss of this break means as we seek to maintain the physical and mental health of our community during this particularly challenging time. In addition to remaining thoughtful about how to utilize Wednesdays as a built-in break in the class routine for students, action steps we are taking include:
- The formation of a working group composed of students, faculty, and staff in the coming weeks, led by Lisa Mazzariello, Special Assistant to the Chief Operating Officer, specifically to develop additional student engagement programming for our on-campus and remote students.
- The formation of a working group composed of the Faculty Senate Academic Affairs Committee, academic leadership, the Center for Learning & Teaching, wellness leaders and other academic staff to recommend course design options that provide reasonable and coordinated breaks throughout the spring semester. Their goal is to support faculty and student wellness while ensuring course outcomes and our high quality teaching standards are met.
These two steps are an initial response to this change in our academic calendar and we look forward to continued collaboration with students, faculty, and staff to identify ways to take care of ourselves and each other throughout the semester, even in the absence of a traditional Spring Break.
Commencement 2021
As a result of the late start for the Spring 2021 semester, Commencement Exercises for the Class of 2021 will take place on Saturday, May 15, a week later than originally scheduled.
Our planning team is considering a wide range of options for a memorable ceremony and recognition of the Class of 2021. We do not expect to make any firm decisions or announcements about Commencement until the spring semester is underway, and will do so in consultation with the graduating class. In order to remain flexible, we ask that families and friends do not make any non-refundable plans to travel to Vermont until we can share more about the format of the ceremony and the latest State of Vermont travel guidelines, should an in-person event be possible.
Housing
This spring, we will welcome back those students currently living on campus, and anticipate being able to accommodate additional requests for housing. Residence halls will continue to operate at the existing lower density model of only single and double rooms. Priority will be given to seniors, however we will strive to accommodate as many students as safely possible given reduced occupancy.
All students currently living in Champlain housing will be able to maintain their existing Fall 2020 housing assignment for the Spring 2021 semester, if they choose to do so. We are carefully considering allowing students to leave their belongings in their room over the break. We anticipate making this decision by mid-November. As a reminder, campus housing closes November 22 at noon.
Our Housing and Residential Life team is finalizing the process for students to indicate their intent for housing for the Spring 2021 semester. We know there are a number of questions related to the housing assignment process, as well as late-stay requests for the Fall 2020 semester and winter break. Please look for additional communications from the Director of Housing and Residential Life later today.
Health and Safety
The commitment each of you made to the practices and habits designed to limit the transmission of COVID-19 in our community is working. We need to remain vigilant and not let our success diminish our resolve over the coming months.
The Health Pledge will remain in effect for the Spring 2021 semester and we intend to continue routine testing through the Broad Institute. Following winter break, students returning to campus from a quarantine-county as defined by the State of Vermont will be required to quarantine for two weeks leading up to the start of in-person instruction. Students who are unable to complete this quarantine out of state due to living arrangements and/or use of mass transit to travel to Vermont will be able to quarantine on campus during the first two weeks of remote instruction.
We know that the timing of the seasonal flu poses an additional challenge in managing the overall health of our community and identifying symptoms of COVID-19. Champlain will offer flu shot clinics for students, faculty, and staff again this year and all members of our community are encouraged to get vaccinated against the seasonal flu. The operations of the flu shot clinics will be modified in the context of our current public health protocols and additional information and schedule details are forthcoming from the Student Health Center and the People Center.
Study Abroad
Due to the continued closure of the US/Canada border, the Spring 2021 Montreal student cohort will participate in fully virtual classes taught by our Montreal faculty. Additionally, while Ireland has performed relatively well with COVID-19 infection rates, there remain significant challenges and risks associated with travel and the ongoing pandemic. Regretfully, infection rates in Dublin have taken a turn for the worse in recent weeks. The exceedingly unpredictable situation has brought us to the unfortunate decision of canceling the spring 2021 program in Dublin as well as all other 3rd party and exchange programs.
As a reminder, all of our COVID-related updates are included on our website, including FAQs, communications, and our testing dashboard. We will continue to update this resource as information becomes available. Questions can be emailed to feedback@champlain.edu.
