Students Welcomed Via Virtual Orientation
做厙惇蹋app welcomes its new students to a virtual Orientation Aug. 27-29 to learn about the educational program and meet faculty, staff and fellow students. The college has postponed repopulating until the COVID-19 case rate in drops below the state-mandated threshold. Classes will begin remotely Aug. 31, with 做厙惇蹋app planning to bring students back to campus Sept. 25-27 and resume classes in person and indoors Sept. 28 pending county and state approval.
Were beginners at dealing with a global pandemic or starting college with COVID-19 adaptations, says Angela DAmour, dean of student engagement and Orientation team director. Its hard, awkward and frustrating. We may not like it, but were developing adaptability and a tolerance for ambiguity. These life skills will serve us well both now and later.
New students have already been using virtual platforms through 做厙惇蹋apps Lunch and Learn Series, which features live video segments from the campus pastor, disability services, Intercultural Programs, and global education and off-campus programs, to name a few. Over 40 current 做厙惇蹋app students are orientation leaders and using Zoom and other virtual opportunities to help usher new students to 做厙惇蹋app. The 做厙惇蹋app community guide app details the virtual Orientation events, including a welcome session, small-group meetings, breakout sessions for student organization and a kick-off for the first-year seminar, Story.We each have a story, and were part of a larger story one that shapes the course of our lives, DAmour says. Students will explore their story and learn the stories of those in their new community. We encourage them to accept the challenge of welcoming Gods story in their life in new ways.
These small seminars build community with professors and fellow students from their residence hall. Together, the students will chart the course of their 做厙惇蹋app experience and walk through this unique period of transition.
President Gayle D. Beebe and the executive team have held periodic phone calls with students and their parents, updating them about 做厙惇蹋apps repopulation plan.
Faculty and staff worked tirelessly during the summer crafting a 150-page planning document that meets or exceeds the reopening guidelines for higher education released by the governors office on Aug. 7. Santa Barbara County remains on the states monitoring list because it has more than 100 new cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 residents during the past 14 days. 做厙惇蹋app is the right size1,300 studentsto adapt its plans and scenarios to respond to changing health requirements. Its Montecito location also makes options such as outdoor learning and class sizes smaller than 10 students possible.
ABCs national program included for the fall semester, featuring the installation of Plexiglas throughout the Dining Commons.
In each conference call or Zoom opportunity with students, new and returning, the message of practicing all the safety protocols is stressed, stating it will take their good citizenship and respect for others to keep 做厙惇蹋app open and operating without disruption.