From the President

Friends,

Back in August I was concerned about whether, and how long, we would be able to hold in-seat classes, particularly on the Day campus. The decision to offer in-seat classes for the fall semester was not an easy one.

As I write this, it’s mid-October and our High-Flex model — which allows Day Program students to choose each day whether they attend in-seat or virtually — is serving us well. Daily symptom tracking and temperature checks help too. Thankfully, to this point we have had few COVID cases and no hospitalizations.

Having said that, winter is coming, as Ned Stark would say. It seems likely that COVID will flourish in the cold weather when we all stay indoors. There are signs that this is already happening. We must remain vigilant at all of our locations across the country.

Sadly, this means that we are still not holding in-person commencement ceremonies, including our traditional December ceremony in Columbia. This is a huge disappointment for so many students and families, but it just isn’t prudent to gather so many people together in one place. We’ll do our best to make the virtual ceremony meaningful and satisfying.

Meanwhile, please stay safe.

Sincerely,

Dr. Scott Dalrymple Columbia College President