Dr. Loope on Commencement and Spring Semester

Dear Students, Colleagues, and Friends:

Given the increasing likelihood that the coronavirus outbreak
will prevent us from convening in groups larger than 50 people for the
foreseeable future, I have made the decision to postpone our scheduled
May 15, 2020, Commencement ceremony until a later date. We do not know
the new date of Commencement, since we do not know when the pandemic
will subside sufficiently to enable us to gather as a large group. But,
we will hold Commencement on a yet-to-be-determined date, which the College will communicate as soon as we know it. If you are a student who is scheduled to graduate this May, you will still do so—assuming
you successfully complete any remaining required courses in which you
are enrolled. Also, if you have already paid your Commencement and
other graduation fees, there will be no need to repay these. The
College will apply them to the rescheduled Commencement ceremony.

Secondly, the College will continue to offer all courses—with a
very few approved exceptions—in an online format through the last day of
finals on May 13. This extends our decision to teach via online format
through April 5. All lab science courses will use online laboratory
experiences that faculty will begin to employ over the next week.
Career and technical education (CTE) programs will continue to teach the
lecture component of their courses via Blackboard; the College will
decide how to manage lab-based instruction in CTE programs on a
program-by-program basis over the next two weeks. Continuing education
courses not taught online will remain on hiatus pending further
direction from College leadership.

I am aware of the disappointment you must feel in postponing
Commencement, which is truly the culmination of each year’s academic
experience for faculty and a lifetime milestone for students. But,
under these extraordinary circumstances, we have little choice in the
matter. I will be back in touch as soon as possible with a new date for
the event.

Thank you all for your amazing persistence and professionalism during this most trying time. Stay well, and

Best wishes,

David R. Loope, Ed.D.
President