We will continue remote teaching this summer with an expectation to return to classrooms in Fall 2021. See details.
COVID-19 Updates
Updated April 1, 2021
COVID-19 Updates
April 1, 2021
Dear Cambridge College community:
We recently passed the one-year anniversary of the World Health Organization’s announcement of a global pandemic and the subsequent announcement of a national quarantine. In passing that milestone we have reason for optimism with the availability of vaccines, but we are reminded that we are not yet free of the risks of continued infection. Families and communities around the globe have suffered unimaginable losses and there remains a high level of anxiety and uncertainty that we are all still trying to navigate.
Despite our hopes that by now, we might return to our normal routines at the college, we recognize that we need to consider once again, the current state of the pandemic and the associated risks to our college community of returning to campus. To that end, I once again convened our COVID workgroup to consider and assess the options of returning to campus or remaining remote for the summer session. We have concluded that in the interest of the health and safety of our community, it is best to continue to operate in remote mode through our summer session.
Our decision was informed by many factors including the work we have done to date to support our students, faculty and staff over the past year. We remain committed to providing a high level of support for members of our community in this extended phase of remote operations. We will also continue to solicit your feedback through surveys, convenings and other modes of communication to ensure that we are doing our best to understand and respond to the needs of the full community.
We also recognize, however, that we must begin to prepare for a return to campus. Our goal, predicated on national and local guidance, is to return to campus for the fall semester and we must consider what a return to campus might entail for all of us. To prepare the campus for a safe return, and to better understand the needs of our students, staff and faculty, and the technological and other supports that will be needed, we are currently in the stages of planning a summer pilot program which is contingent on the interests and participation level of faculty and students. The pilot will involve hosting a small number of in-person classes with the option for students to join remotely or in-person. Students and faculty who participate in this pilot will be asked to provide regular feedback to the experience. On an ongoing basis we will assess the adequacy of technology to support this model, the complexity of operating with dual modalities and the impact on physical requirements such as distancing and facility safety enhancements. The findings of this summer pilot will guide our planning for a fall return to campus and enable us, in a timely fashion, to prepare the campus for a safe and timely return. Information regarding the classes and options for participating in the pilot will be provided during registration for the summer session.
Once again, I want to extend our deep appreciation to every member of the Cambridge College community for your perseverance, commitment, and the exceptional level of effort that you have demonstrated over the past year. Like the world around us, we have confronted one of the greatest challenges of our lifetime and we have prevailed as a community. I implore you to continue to practice safe habits and to follow the guidance of federal and local experts and authorities. We have made it thus far, so let’s cross the finish line of this pandemic together.
We look forward to the day, just around the corner, when we will gather, work, study, and simply be together again in person. Until then, let’s continue to do our best to support one another in our work, to support our students on their academic journey and most of all to continue to sustain the mission of Cambridge College.
Should you have any questions please contact any one of the following college liaisons noted below. We want to hear from you and address your concerns.
- Students should contact Regina Robinson, Dean of Student Affairs, at Regina.Robinson@cambridgecollege.edu;
- Faculty should contact Dr. Jerry Ice, Provost, at Jerry.Ice@cambridgecollege.edu; and
- Staff should contact Lauretta Siggers, VP of HR, at Lauretta.Siggers@cambridgecollege.edu.
Please also remember to check the college website, your emails and MyCC for periodic updates.
With regards,
Deborah
Helpful Links
National COVID Updates
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updates on COVID-19
Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center
State & Local Updates
Massachusetts
Massachusetts Dept. of Public Health updates on COVID-19
Boston
Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) in Boston
Springfield
City of Springfield COVID-19 Situational Updates
COVID-19 Emergency Response Program for Springfield, MA residents: Springfield Partners for Community Action is ready to help Springfield Residents with COVID-19 related expenses! They can help you with: Electric Bills, Groceries, Water and Sewer, Funeral Expenses for COVID Victims, Rent and Mortgage, Water Heater. Income guidelines apply. For more information, call: 413-263-6500 or email: COVID@springfieldpartnersinc.com
Lawrence
City of Lawrence COVID-19 Information
California
California COVID-19 Information
Puerto Rico
COVID-19 in Puerto Rico CDC site
Coping with Coronavirus
Managing Anxiety and Stress - Basic guidance from the CDC on managing mental health stressors during COVID-19.
10 Ideas for Coping with Loneliness During Social Distancing - Psychology Today provides tips for how to feel less lonely and isolated during social distancing.
Coronavirus Resources & Tips for Parents, Children & Others – Clear, concrete tips for parents on physically distancing while staying emotionally and socially connected.
Talking with Children: Tips for Caregivers, Parents, and Teachers during Infectious Disease Outbreaks - Reactions children and youth of different age groups may have during an infectious disease outbreak and how to support them.
That Discomfort You’re Feeling is Grief – Harvard Business Review article explains how we are collectively grieving right now and how to process those feelings.
Previous Updates
May 21, 2020: Campus Updates from President Jackson
Dear Cambridge College Community:
It has now been over two months since we left our buildings in Boston, Lawrence, Springfield, Puerto Rico and Rancho Cucomonga in California with uncertainty about how long we would be gone, or what would transpire over the weeks and months ahead. During these weeks, I have heard from many of you - our staff, faculty and students through surveys, emails, calls and text messages and of course, on the ever present zoom meetings! What I have heard and witnessed in our community is how flexible, resilient, and persistent we are as a college. We have continued conducting the business of the college at the operational level without missing a beat and most impressively, our students and faculty have persevered with a determination to do whatever is needed for our students to continue without interrupting their academic pursuits.
On all fronts, we have persisted! Along the way, I have heard inspirational stories of situations that have been overcome, and also the sad and troubling news of illness and loss in the Cambridge College extended family. I have received notes from our students thanking the college for its support, compassion and responsiveness. I am most heartened and touched by these stories that reflect how we care for one another at times like these. We have many things of which to be proud. I want to thank each and every member of the Cambridge College community for all that you are doing to sustain our sense of connection and community, to persevere in the academic and operational activities of the college, and to do so with such patience, consideration for one another and optimism. I am both grateful and inspired.
We are now at a moment when we must address what happens next for Cambridge College as we face the months ahead and consider our options for the fall. So I want to provide you with a number of updates that I hope will assure you that we are addressing the uncertainty that we all feel at this time.
Summer Semester
Summer semester begins on June 8 and as you know, the college will continue to operate in a remote teaching and learning mode through the summer semester. In addition, at the staff level we will continue to work from home. While this is the preferred model for all of us, there are times when staff and on rare occasion, students must come into the building. We have protocols in place for coming into our facilities at any location and recently you should have received a reminder memo of the health and safety protocols. We have also posted these protocols on our website and MYCC and we will have signs posted throughout our facilities. Please adhere to the protocols for visiting our sites as they are designed to protect you and others.
Commencement
I am pleased to confirm our plans to hold commencement in the fall as we announced previously. We have confirmed our 2020 Commencement for Sunday September 27, 2020 at our usual location, the Blue Hills Bank Pavillion on the Boston waterfront. I am excited at the prospect of seeing our graduates in September but I must add a note of caution that our ability to host an in person gathering of this scale will be dependent on the federal, state and city guidelines that will govern our activities at the time of the event. We will keep you informed and updated as we monitor updates from our state and local officials.
Fall Semester
We have now turned our attention to considering our options for shaping the fall semester. I have had the honor of participating on a work group of college presidents tasked with developing recommendations to present to Massachusetts Governor Baker for the higher education sector regarding reopening our college campuses for students, faculty and staff. The goals of this work group are the same for Cambridge College and for all colleges and that is first and foremost to assure that we protect the health and safety of our students, faculty and staff, and secondly, that we enable and support our students in continuing to make meaningful progress towards their educational goals.
The decision we face is when and how we would be able to reopen the campus for work and on campus classes. For all of us that means consideration of a wide array of issues including safety protocols on site that could include: screening and testing; social distancing in public areas, working areas and classrooms; the use of PPE’s and safety precautions by everyone on campus including wearing masks, frequent hand washing, the availability of sanitizers throughout the campus, limitations on the size of gatherings, and intensive and consistent facility disinfecting. In addition, we must also take into consideration how comfortable our students, faculty and staff would feel returning to campus, and especially for those who might have limitations because they are in a high risk group.
We will continue to assess these matters over the next few weeks with the goal of announcing to the campus by mid June our plans for the fall semester. We want your input and to that end, we plan to conduct a survey of our community over the coming week.
Whether we continue in remote mode through our fall semester or return in some form to on-campus activities, we will retain our commitment to your safety as our top priority.
The world is changing in response to this pandemic and higher education will be changed as well. We look forward to working, as a community, to prepare for how Cambridge College will respond to these changes while maintaining our deep commitment to our mission.
I close with this wonderful reflection that was shared with me from a colleague.
All the best,
Deborah C. Jackson,
President
When this is over, may we never again take for granted
A handshake with a stranger, full shelves at the store
Conversations with neighbors, a crowded theater
Friday night out, the taste of communion
A routing check up, the school rush each morning
Coffee with a friend, the stadium roaring
Each deep breath, a boring Tuesday
Life itself.
When this ends may we find that we have become
More like the people we wanted to be, we were called to be
We hoped to be, and may we stay that way —
Better for each other, because of the worst
By Laura Fanucci, Saint John’s University
