Message from President Bateman on the results of the student survey about spring semester

Dear Students,

I want to thank each of you who took the time to respond to the survey we sent out last Monday regarding next semester. More than 57 percent of students participated, which is extraordinary. Your input is appreciated by the COVID-19 Task Force as we work through our decision of what to do for the spring semester.

We felt it important to share the results of the survey with our campus community. Before I do so, I must be clear that the decision to open campus is not a plebiscite. While we are taking all of the input we received into consideration in our decision-making process, there are many other factors that will determine whether we feel we can open safely, including the availability of appropriate quarantine and isolation space, testing availability, and the progress of the pandemic in our community.

The task force is working diligently to find the answers and solutions to these issues, and we all appreciate your patience during this process.

The student survey results included the following:

If given the choice of being on campus or remaining off campus:

60.6% prefer to be on campus

28.6% prefer to remain off campus

If all courses remain online:

48.3% would choose to live on campus

42.5% would choose to remain off campus

If asked to quarantine or isolate because of a COVID-19 positive test or exposure:

56.3% would require College housing

36.9% would not require the use of College housing

I hope you find these results as useful as the task force. Again, we appreciate your input greatly. Despite the fact that all of us desire to be on campus, as the results show, there are no easy choices for anyone regarding this pandemic.

Thank you again. Please continue to be safe and well!

Brad