Agnes Scott College moving to online fall semester after COVID-19 concerns
Agnes Scott College will be completely online for its fall semester. (By Diliff - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=452309)
DECATUR, Ga. - Students at Agnes Scott College will have their fall semester completely online, the Decatur university has announced.
In a message shared to students, Agnes Scott Dean and Vice President for Academic Affairs Christine Cozzens said that the university "made the painful decision to move to fully online courses for the fall semester."
"While we remained hopeful that we would be able to bring our community back together on campus, our commitment to your health and safety, and that of our faculty and staff, comes first," Cozzens said, mentioning Georgia's seven-day average of more than 1,000 cases per day.
According to Cozzens, students may come back to campus at some time during the fall semester if it is determined to be safe. If that is the case the first-year students will start the move back on campus "so that they can have the experiences and embrace the traditions that their fellow Scotties treasure,” she said.
SEE MORE: Morehouse, Clark, Spelman cancel fall in-person learning due to COVID-19 concerns
Agnes Scott will begin offering remote classes on Aug. 20. Prior to that, they'll offer summer workshops for faculty and staff and training for tutoring center staff to deal with the change to fully online learning.
While other schools in the area, including the Atlanta University Center Consortium, have reduced their tuition as part of the shift to digital learning, Agnes Scott says that tuition for the fall semester will remain the same.
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“Your tuition supports the unique academic experience at Agnes Scott and the faculty and staff who deliver it," Cozzens said. "This includes the work of faculty and staff as described above to provide a rich, varied and always evolving academic program, and the many support services that enhance your learning experience and ensure your success. In addition to those already mentioned, many other offices will continue to assist you in registering for courses, receiving financial aid, paying your bills, and much more."
The school still plans for in-person classes for the spring semester.
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