HARRISONBURG, Va. (WHSV) — Harrisonburg Rockingham Chamber of Commerce hosted its annual Presidential Address on Thursday, August 13, 2020.
The Presidents from JMU, Bridgewater College, Blue Ridge Community College and Eastern Mennonite University all spoke on behalf of their schools, emphasizing the challenges they have faced and their plans to move forward.
"The word of the semester, or of the year I believe is flexibility," Dr. John Downey, President of Blue Ridge Community College, said.
President Downey, along with the three other presidents in the meeting, agrees that in order to move forward, not just as higher education institutions, but as a community, it’s going to take teamwork.
“There are gonna be challenges in this,” David Bushman, President of Bridgewater College, said. “But we’re gonna live and learn to do this together and we’re gonna do it well because of all of the planning and the quality of the people.”
Each college has developed a plan for the Fall.
JMU will utilize a mix of in-person, hybrid, and online classes starting August 26, 2020. Students must review and agree to a community safety pledge, and efforts have been put in place to keep everyone safe, such as some classes being taught outdoors at the Arboretum, and first-year student move-in being extended over several days, beginning August 21, 2020.
EMU will hold classes in person starting August 25, 2020, but students can access classes online if they choose. There will be no Fall break, but students will be sent home for the remainder of the semester at Thanksgiving. This means finals will be online.
Blue Ridge Community College will be primarily online starting August 19, 2020, but some select courses that cannot be taught virtually will be held in person. Every student will take a course on COVID-19, and each will have to sign a safety agreement.
For Bridgewater College, President Bushman says classes will start August 25, 2020, and students can choose whether they would like to be in person or online. So far, about 15% of students have chosen to do remote learning. All students at Bridgewater College have the option to waive their residency requirement.
All four institutions are prepared to change plans if needed.
“Flexibility and adaptability are really critical,” Jonathan Alger, President of JMU, said.
Overall, the Presidents are optimistic and look forward to working with their students.
"We will strive to give each one of our students a new, one of a kind royal welcome," EMU President, Dr. Susan Huxman said.
Each school has its full Fall plan on their website, and you can watch the full Presidential Address by clicking this link https://youtu.be/NLIYaxBCRfs
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Local colleges and universities plan for Fall semester - WHSV
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