Dear PC Parents, Families, Alumni, and Friends:

During my first few days on campus (February 3), I released a statement in which I acknowledged feedback on PC’s previously stated plans for attendance at home athletic competitions. Health and safety considerations rightly drove PC’s initial planning for the spring semester and season. However, I understand that the careers of student athletes are precious and fleeting, and I sympathize with families who want to support their students through their attendance.

As promised, our leadership team and I have worked with urgency during my first few weeks to determine where there might be flexibility in our plans. Specifically, we have sought the counsel of our public health authorities, carefully monitored our dynamic campus and county circumstances, and engaged a national panel of epidemiologists drawn from the ranks of our PC alumni.

I am delighted to report that after extensive discussions and planning, we believe it is reasonably safe and responsible to accommodate a limited number of spectators for outdoor competitions provided that we, as a community, adhere faithfully to CDC and DHEC health and safety guidelines. Please read here for venue-specific guidelines. 

Based on the current facts and circumstances, our local authorities and experts have urged PC in the strongest possible terms to avoid hosting spectators for indoor athletic events. Some individuals have told us that they do not feel comfortable traveling during the pandemic and requested that we look into livestreaming possibilities. I am pleased to report that we are redoubling our efforts to ensure that livestreaming is available for as many athletic competitions as possible.

As we have learned during this unprecedented period, all athletic competitions are subject to last-minute cancellations and delays due to the unpredictability of COVID-19 cases among competing institutions. Numerous competitions on the PC calendar have already been affected. We anticipate seeing more surprise disruptions before spring competitions end. Please understand that such cancellations and delays are entirely out of the control of PC, and please remember the risk you assume when you decide to travel to campus.

I am excited that PC teams are competing and pleased that we can safely and responsibly host a limited number of spectators. In the meantime, I know our entire community is hopeful for a return to relative normalcy in the near future. On behalf of all of our faculty and staff at PC, I wish you and your families great health and happiness.

I look forward to meeting you in the coming weeks and months.

Go Blue Hose!

Matt vandenBerg, EdD, CFRE
President

Dear PC Parents, Families, Alumni, and Friends:

Thank you for your warm welcome to the PC community. I officially began my new  responsibilities on Monday, February 1. Melissa, Jackson (8), Sylvia (4), and I are deeply honored to join this phenomenal institution and to fully engage in its storied traditions.

I am grateful to have already witnessed the love and passion you have for PC athletics and our student athletes, as evidenced by your feedback on PC’s plans for attendance at home athletic events. I am also heartened that the health and safety of our students, faculty, staff, and community have been at the forefront of PC’s planning for this spring semester and season. At the same time, the careers of student athletes are uniquely special and finite in duration, and I feel tremendous sympathy for those who want to attend competitions and lend their loving personal support. Like many of you, I find myself wondering where there might be flexibility in our current plans.

This is a dynamic and evolving situation, and the current attendance policy reflects today’s facts and circumstances. Our policies must adapt as these conditions continue to evolve, for better or worse. Most of our home competitions do not begin for a few more weeks, and our first home football game is closer to six weeks away. PC’s leadership team and I will reflect carefully on your helpful feedback and recommendations. Meanwhile, I will work with great urgency to get up to speed, in part by seeking the counsel of public health authorities and speaking with the presidents of institutions throughout our region, some of which have opted to cancel their spring seasons. I am tremendously excited that PC teams will compete, and if our public health authorities advise us that we can safely and responsibly accommodate a limited audience for any home competitions, we will do so. We know you are eager to hear the latest. We will reassess as we gather information and follow up as we get closer to scheduled competition dates.

Looking forward to meeting you in the coming months.

Go Blue Hose!

Matt vandenBerg, EdD, CFRE
President

Parents and Families,

As you know, last week we released our plans for attendance at home athletic events for the spring semester. We’ve heard from many of you who are, understandably, disappointed you’re not able to attend events until conditions improve. We’re disappointed along with you, and for you, as well – we know the amount of interest, excitement, and care you have for your student-athletes, and we know how important it is for many of you to be connected in person with them.

With that said, we wanted you to know this was not a decision made lightly: different alternatives were shared and discussed by the athletic department and the PC leadership team, and we came to this determination with a two-fold goal in mind: we want to maximize the health and well-being of all our students, including our student-athletes, as well as faculty and staff, but we also want to maximize the opportunities your students have to compete and participate in sports this spring. We’d also like to provide you additional context as to why we’ve made this determination:

• When we began this academic year, PC implemented campus-wide visitor and guest policies that still remain in place in order to limit campus populace to students, faculty and staff. We are restricting access to concerts, performances, guest lectures, and other campus events in a similar fashion, and the decision we’ve made here is consistent with this approach of limiting access to events and gatherings on campus.
• With in-person instruction happening on campus, and a number of competitions happening over the next few weeks, we remain concerned about the potential for virus spread and infection in the campus community. All of our protocols from the fall semester are still in place, and cleaning, mask use, and physical distancing efforts are being intensified. Since we have such a small campus, while it is possible we could limit interactions within venues themselves, we’re worried about the potential for contact before or after events outside of campus venue where it may not be possible to enforce physical distancing among individuals who may not be upholding different COVID-19 best practices.
• In everything we’re doing on campus related to COVID-19, we’re investing in the ability of your students to have a meaningful in-person experience on campus, and in the ability to continue activities uninterrupted for the entire term. Limiting who is present on campus maximizes the health and well-being of the campus community, and our goal is to increase the likelihood that we can minimize or prevent cancellation of athletic competitions or entire athletic seasons.
• You may have seen that Laurens County remains a COVID-19 hotspot, with its highest numbers of positive COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations since the pandemic first began. It is uncertain when these numbers might decrease. To do our part in the community,

PC wants to minimize the volume of guests and spectators from coming in from the community when doing so cannot be deemed essential to campus operation. In that sense, we’re also limiting access to the events for faculty and staff – the leadership team can’t attend events either right now.

We know this is not an ideal circumstance, but we hope you can understand a little better our rationale for proceeding as we are. The health and well-being of your student-athlete, and others on campus, is absolutely essential to us, and in doing this we also want to provide the greatest probability for an uninterrupted spring season.

As we move forward, we will continue the evaluate the circumstances of this situation, both on campus and in the community. Although the policy is in place until further notice, if conditions change we will reassess and evaluate options. In the meantime, PC will do its best to broadcast as many home athletic events as possible via video livestream or radio.

When we can ensure and maintain a healthy environment for all our visitors and guests, we will definitely look forward to having you on campus again to support each of your students.

Respectfully,
Don Raber
Provost and Acting President

Rob Acunto
Director of Athletics

Good afternoon, Blue Hose!

I hope this email finds you healthy and well and looking forward to classes beginning on Monday, January 25. As we approach our return to campus for Spring 2021, here are the things you need to know and do to continue to #ProtectPC and return to campus ready for a successful semester.

Self-Monitor and Self-Quarantine Beginning Wednesday, January 13

• Students should begin completing the LiveSafe daily health screening again on January 13.  This will help you identify possible concerns that need to be addressed before your return to campus.
• Students must also self-quarantine beginning on January 13 before returning to campus.
• Do not come to campus if:
  • You have a fever
  • You have been exposed to anyone with Covid-19 in the last 14 days
  • You have been out of the US in the last 14 days
  • You have any of the symptoms of Covid-19 (cough, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, fever of 100.4° or more, chills, repeated shaking with chills, fatigue, muscle pain, sore throat, GI symptoms, loss of taste or smell)
  • Contact us at campuslife@presby.edu  if you have any of the above conditions so that we can arrange an alternative date for your arrival.

Get Tested for COVID-19 (PCR Test) Between January 15-20

• We strongly recommend that you have a COVID-19 test within 5 days before your return to campus in order to avoid unintentionally spreading the virus. We request that you provide a documented negative PCR test result for COVID-19 dated between January 15-20 to the PC Counseling Center at counselingandhealth@presby.edu.
• For your convenience, PC is partnering with Self Regional Healthcare to offer Free COVID-19 Testing every Tuesday from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. in front of Bailey Stadium. You can utilize this option as it begins on Tuesday, January 19.
• If you have tested positive for COVID-19 in the last 90 days prior to return, you may submit documentation of the positive test in lieu of other testing. This documentation could help you avoid being unnecessarily quarantined if exposed to an active COVID-19 case within 90 days of having the virus. Send documentation of the date of your COVID-19 case to counselingandhealth@presby.edu.
• NOTE: Early arrival student-athletes should follow the instructions sent by Athletics.

Prepare for Health Screening at Check-In 

• All students and helpers will undergo health screenings for COVID-19 and check-in at Laurens Hall (January 22-25) before entering any other campus buildings.
• The health screening will consist of a temperature check and a questionnaire using the LiveSafe app.
• Once your temperature has shown that you are fever-free and the questions on the LiveSafe app are answered, your screen will display either a green checkmark or a red X.
  • If you are fever-free and your screen displays a green checkmark, you will be allowed to proceed with check-in.
  • If you have a fever OR your screen displays a red X, you must return home and contact us at campuslife@presby.edu to arrange an alternative date for your arrival.

Sign Up for Residence Hall Move-In Now

• Residence halls and apartments open for Spring 2021 on Friday, January 22. If you will be living on campus and you haven’t scheduled a day and time to move in already, please sign up on  SignUp Genius now.
• See Residence Life message from December 18 for specific move-in instructions.

Continue to Protect Yourself and Others

• Before you return and after you arrive on campus, protect yourself and others from the spread of COVID-19 by wearing a mask, staying at least 6 feet from others, and avoiding crowds. [https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/prevention.html]
• For more information on PC’s approach to slowing the spread of COVID-19, refer to the PC website.

If you have any questions about these instructions, please email us at campuslife@presby.edu or call us at 864-833-8378.

Looking forward to seeing you soon,

Joy Smith
Vice President for Campus Life and Dean of Students

Students, Faculty, and Staff:

For those of you working on campus or online, welcome back! I hope you’ve had a fulfilling and meaningful holiday break, and I am excited for your new year ahead. For those of you preparing to return later this month, I’m looking forward to seeing you back on campus: it’s too quiet around here right now, and PC misses all of you!

Graduate Programs

As we launch the spring term, remember that undergraduate and graduate programs will operate in different ways. For our Pharmacy and PA students: watch for emails from your faculty and staff as you work online now but prepare to be in-person later this month; if circumstances change they will let you know. For our new OTD students: I’m glad you’ve gathered in person beginning this week, but stay in contact with your faculty and staff as well.

Returning Undergraduates

For our undergraduate students, faculty, and staff: I hope you’ve managed well the longest break between terms I can ever remember. If you’re like me, “cabin fever” may be setting in, and you’re itching to get into the routine of a new semester! I want to be sure we start the new term right, though, especially as you’ve seen a dramatic expansion in the number of COVID-19 cases both nationwide and here in South Carolina. As it was in the fall, it’s going to be a collective effort to make this work, and each of us must live and learn together in order to have a successful spring.

Please Do Your Part

I am confident that, with your dedication and effort as well as ours on campus, all of us will have a terrific term. To make that a reality, we all need to:

• Wear masks, everywhere, both inside and outside on campus
• Maintain physical distancing – 6 feet wherever possible, both inside and outside
• Monitor symptoms, and isolate or quarantine when we are sick or exposed
• Use hand sanitizers, wipes, and cleaners wherever we can
• Read communications from different offices – campus life, academics, or others
• Remain flexible, especially as conditions change from the winter to the spring

Each of you did an incredible job managing a tough fall term, and I guarantee this semester will raise similar challenges. We’re going to start with the existing mix of in-person, hybrid, and online classes, and we’ll monitor the environment to make changes if necessary. As we go through the spring, though, we’ll look for ways to offer rest and rejuvenation: it’s a long 15 weeks ahead, so we’ll see how we can mix things up in ways to give you a break from time to time.

Preparing for this Semester

For students returning to campus, be sure to review the updated return-to-campus guidelines and COVID-19 information provided by campus life and others. Follow the directions for check-in: that will help enormously to kick off the semester right.

For faculty and staff: we’ll continue to prepare offices and classrooms for the first day of class January 25, and if we need to modify spaces to make classes successful we’ll be prudent in doing so. If you have any concerns about how you’re offering your classes, let me know, but I am convinced you’ll do an outstanding job.

Continue to Deliver on PC’s Mission

2020 was memorable, but not in a way we want to remember. Given what we’ve learned in the last year, though, I know we’ll look back on 2021 and recognize what we achieved as a living and learning community, and thanks to each of you we’ll continue to deliver on PC’s mission in meaningful ways. I hope each of you has an outstanding semester, and Go Blue Hose!

Respectfully,
Don Raber
Provost and Acting President

This message was sent to all undergraduate students from Residence Life at Presbyterian College.

This message was sent to all undergraduate students from Residence Life at Presbyterian College.

Students,

As we near the end of the semester, we want to wish you well as you finish your tests and papers. We also want to share with you some important information on our expectations for the residential facilities as you leave campus and gather some feedback from you in preparation for next semester. Please read through the attached .pdf in its entirety for all of the specifics about leaving campus for the fall semester.

RA/RD Feedback: As always at the end of the Fall semester, we would like your feedback on how our office is doing. Please take a moment to share your thoughts about our RA/RD staff.

Important Residential Facility Closing items to note:

1. All students must return their keys prior to leaving. We will provide a key envelope (which will be distributed by your RA/RD) into which you must put your key. While you may leave your belongings in your room, we will be inventorying all keys over the break and you will be charged if you do not return your key. You may bring it to the Residence Life Office between 8:30 am and 5:00 pm Monday-Friday before you leave or we have created a key drop box located outside of Laurens Hall for after-hours drop-offs. The blue key drop box is to the right of the Laurens side entrance door (the one that faces the library and has the ramp). Failure to return your key(s) before leaving for the break will result in a lock replacement and full charge for a new key ($130 per lock). Do NOT leave your key in your room.
2. Please complete each of the items on the “prior to leaving” checklist, including unplugging electronics, ensuring that windows and doors are locked, HVAC fans are running and removing any trash or perishables from your room.
3. Students must vacate the residential facilities by 5:00 pm on Wednesday, November 25, 2020, unless you have received permission to stay later from the Residence Life Office or are a PC Athlete currently in a competition (i.e. basketball). Requests to stay late must be emailed to reslife@presby.edu for consideration, but very few exceptions will be made. Students will be able to return to campus starting Friday, January 22, 2021, on a scheduled basis (using a reservation system as we did in August for Move-In). More information about returning to campus will be sent out in December. Athletes returning early for preseason practice will be scheduled and approved by Athletics.
4. Students not returning next semester should make the Residence Life Office aware and remove all personal belongings from their assigned room. Students who have been approved to switch rooms for the Spring semester should do so before leaving for the break.

Please read the attached .pdf sheet for more specific hall closing information. If you have any questions or need additional help, please email us at reslife@presby.edu, call 864-833-8277, or stop by our office on the 2nd floor of Laurens Hall.

Best of luck as you finish your papers and exams for the semester. We hope you enjoy the break and look forward to seeing you back in January!

The Residence Life Staff

This message was sent to all undergraduate students, faculty and staff from Dr. Joy Smith, Vice President for Campus Life and Dean of Students at Presbyterian College.

Let’s Do This Together, Blue Hose!

When we begin classes on Monday, we will be in the home stretch for the semester. For those of you who left campus during the pause in in-person classes, welcome back. Those of us who have been here at PC during the pause are ready to return to what I call “PC Covid Normal” and enjoy each other in a physically distanced but personally close environment.

While following precautions to slow the spread of Covid-19 continues to be essential, it is important to make the most of your PC experience in this fall semester home stretch. Here are some ways to do that now.

1. Connect with others. You have met new people and enjoyed friendships that need to be fostered now. Do that in keeping with the precautions in place, but be sure to connect.
2. Join a student organization and attend at least one activity or event each week. The SGA newsletter recently sent to you had plenty of opportunities to consider for this week and beyond.
3. Finish your courses strong. You have worked hard this semester to engage in important learning. Ask for help where needed, and keep your determination to succeed right through exams.
4. Say a prayer or send a special thought to those who have experienced or are experiencing the most negative impacts of Covid-19. Remember those students and others who are isolated or quarantined, and let them know you care.

While we haven’t been able to have all the events, activities, and in-person interaction we wanted to have, we owe it to ourselves and our college to make these last four weeks the best they can possibly be.

Please see below reminders about the safety precautions we all need to observe for the rest of the semester. Let’s do this together.

Joy Smith
Vice President for Campus Life and Dean of Students

General Covid-19 Safety Precautions:

• Distance from others by 6 feet. This is of utmost importance and should be done even outside.
• Wear a mask with two layers of fabric indoors and outdoors except when exercising.
• Wash your hands and clean surfaces you use.
• Check for symptoms daily using the LiveSafe app. Call the PC Covid Helpline if you have symptoms. Seek medical attention for those symptoms and follow through with personal healthcare instructions.

Residential Areas:

We will return to the same policies that have been in place since August.  However, there will be no additional warnings or leniency for violations of our visitation policy.  It is each student’s responsibility to understand and follow these guidelines.  Failure to follow these policies will result in Conduct Charges for both the host and guest(s).  Off-campus guests may face additional actions through Campus Police.

Rooms in residence halls may have the assigned resident(s) of the room and one (1) additional guest.  If there are two people assigned to a room, that is a total of three people (the two residents and one guest).  If there is one person assigned to the room, that is a total of two people (the assigned resident and one guest).

Apartments and townhouses may have up to four (4) people together in the entirety of the apartment common area (livin9olg room/dining room/kitchen/hallways/porches).  The ONLY time this can be exceeded is if there are five (5) or six (6) residents of an apartment (this only occurs in a few Spradley and Townhouse apartments) in which case all of the residents may be present in the common area at the same time with no additional guests.

Townhouses have outdoor gathering areas and may have an additional six (6) guests appropriately distanced outside of their townhouse on the grass.

All students must wear their mask when outside of their assigned residential area and should maintain 6 feet of distance wherever possible.

Dining Services:

GDH & Springs Food Court have limited seating and are spaced six feet apart; Please be conscious of others’ health and do not move the chairs and tables. ALL dining locations have been updated with card readers to provide contactless transactions.  These new card readers accept PC IDs for meal swipes and bonus buck purchases.

Dining in GDH

• Here are a few things to remember about dining in or getting your meal to-go in Greenville Dining Hall:
• If you’re eating in…
  • Dine & dash! Be mindful of time spent in the dining hall and allow others to dine too. Limit meal periods to 30 minutes.
  • Tables have limited seating and are spaced six feet apart; Please be conscious of others’ health and do not move chairs from tables.
  • GDH is open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
  • If you have Premium Access & All-Access Meal Plans, you’re welcome to unlimited all-you-care-to-eat meals in GDH. You can have a meal and visit later in the day for a snack.

Get your meal to-go

• A to-go box program is offered in GDH. You may not dine in GDH with your to-go box if you choose a to-go meal.
• To Go containers are available at each service platform
• Outdoor dining is encourage at the tents between Lassiter & GDH
• Meals not consumed within an hour should be refrigerated appropriately.

Springs Food Court

• Springs Food Court has limited indoor seating available; all menu items are packaged TO GO.  When dining at Springs:
• Be conscious of others’ health and do not move chairs from tables
• Use the outdoor seating area with umbrellas
• Increased selection of Grab & Go menu items from POD
• Use the express lane at Boar’s Head Deli

Student Activities and events

Refer to the Out of Class, Gatherings, and RSO Guidelines document for full details of expectations. Failure to adhere to these guidelines may result in loss of organizational privileges or status. We recommend meeting virtually or in a hybrid fashion to limit the size of gatherings, within the linked guidelines. RSOs, submit an event form for all meetings and events (you do not need to submit a new event form for previously registered weekly meetings that are in line with COVID and other policies).

Off-Campus Safety Precautions and Expectations

It is expected that the personal safety precautions (distancing, wearing masks, hand-washing, checking symptoms, and generally doing all you can to slow the spread of COVID-19) will be followed by members of the PC community off-campus as well as on campus.

Joy S. Smith, Ph.D.

This message was sent to all undergraduate students, faculty and staff from Dr. Joy Smith, Vice President for Campus Life and Dean of Students at Presbyterian College.

Dear PC Students,

Next Monday, we begin in-person classes in our final four weeks of the fall semester on campus. The challenges have not changed, but we now have more experience to inform how we finish the semester.

The Numbers are Better

One of the most drastic measures the College has ever taken was to pause in-person instruction. The personal interaction between students and professors is what PC is known for.

We chose to pause in-person classes because of the growing number of COVID cases as well as the number of students who were isolating or quarantining. Pausing in-person classes offered an opportunity for these students and others to stay in place and for other students to change their location if desired for a short period of time.

This has been effective. The number of students with the virus and the number of students isolating or quarantining have decreased significantly over the last week.

Now Is Our Chance to Re-Start

Remember how we began this semester with the desire to be on campus and to stay? We are about to have a “re-start” and this time we have to maintain that desire and our momentum so that we can finish the semester together.

If you did leave campus during this in-person class pause period, you’re expected to return to campus on time for in-person classes to resume on Monday. All safety precautions continue to be in place from now until we leave in November. The last day of fall term classes is Friday, November 20. Fall term exams will be held from Sunday, Nov. 22 to Wednesday, Nov. 25.

I believe we can start again well, and, if we do, we will finish the semester together.

Commit to a Strong Finish

We have all now seen what happens when some of us let our guard down and don’t follow safety precautions on campus or off-campus. For the rest of the semester, we’re relying on every student, faculty and staff member to take the necessary health and safety precautions seriously so that we can finish the semester on campus.

From the day classes start in-person again through the end of the semester, you’ll be expected to continue to follow every individual precaution you committed to in August as well as the limits on visitors and gatherings which were designed to limit the spread of the coronavirus. We must ALL commit to these precautions. We cannot let up when we are so close to the finish. We have seen the results of letting our guard down, and we cannot let that happen again.

Let’s finish strong, Blue Hose!

Thank you,
Dr. Joy Smith

This message was sent to all undergraduate students, faculty and staff from Dr. Amy Davis, Director of Academic Success and Retention at Presbyterian College.

This message was sent to all undergraduate students, faculty and staff from Dr. Joy Smith, VP for Campus Life and Dean of Students at Presbyterian College.

Dear PC Students,

I hope you have seen the email from Provost Don Raber regarding the move to online/remote instruction for the next two weeks.  This means that classes do continue, but they will not be in-person. All Campus Life offices will continue to operate on normal schedules during the next two weeks. Locations for these offices and services include:

Vice President for Campus Life Office – Springs Student Center
Career and Professional Development – Springs Student Center
Religious Life and Community Engagement – Laurens Hall
Residence Life – Laurens Hall
Student Involvement – Laurens Hall
Counseling Services – Alumni House
Student Health Services (provided by Family Healthcare of Clinton) – East Calhoun Street
Campus Police – Campus Police Station

As a reminder, all students are to wear masks at all times on campus (except when in your assigned residential rooms) and maintain no less than 6 feet of social distance. Out of an abundance of caution, the following protocols are in place for Campus Life spaces effective as of 8:00 p.m. this evening:

Residence Life

• Students are NOT to have guests or visitors in their rooms.  Only the residents of the room/suite/apartment are allowed in each residential space for the next two weeks.
• Tables/seating in lounge areas in residence hall common areas are to be used by one person at a time, with masks on at all times.

Dining

• All meals in GDH and Springs will be served to-go only after dinner today.
• No seating will be available for dining in Springs or GDH.

Springs Student Center

• Masks and distancing will be required in Springs Student Center at all times. Hence, there will be no eating inside Springs during the next two weeks.
• Seating in Springs is limited to 1 person per table/seating area (no matter the table size) in all areas of the building.

Springs Fitness Center

• Available exercise time slots have been reduced by 50%.
• All exercisers must properly wear a mask at all times.
• Exercisers must work out alone and be at least 6ft away from others.
• The fitness facilities are closed for an hour each day for disinfecting and exercisers must continue to clean their equipment after they use it.

Out of Class Gatherings

• All RSO Meetings, programs, and events must be virtual.
• No gatherings of any size.

COVID Precautions

• Wear your mask and social distance from others.
• Continue to use the LiveSafe app to monitor for symptoms.  If you have symptoms/get a red “X” on the app, call the COVID Help Line at 864-872-0999.  Students who choose to go home should continue to do this as well.
• For urgent care, Express Medical Care is open Monday-Friday 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. and Saturday-Sunday 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.  They are located at 22580 Hwy. 76 East, Clinton, SC 29325.  Phone 864-939-1070.
• On-campus medical services are available from 11:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. Monday-Friday.  Family Healthcare of Clinton provides these services and their main office is in the same building as Express Medical Care.  They are open at 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday.  Call 864-833-8400 for an appointment.  Let them know you are a PC student.
• On-campus counseling services can be accessed by calling 864-833-8263.

Additional information will continue to be provided as needed and is subject to change.  As Dr. Raber said, students are strongly encouraged to limit trips off campus unless it is to go to work, a grocery store, or a visit to a medical professional. Students on campus must follow guidelines on physical distancing, symptom monitoring, sanitizing, and masks. We will also limit all gatherings at this point: no exceptions. Students who violate any of our protocols will be required to leave campus immediately.

The Campus Life staff is available to assist you during the next two weeks and thereafter.

Sincerely,
Joy S. Smith
Vice President for Campus Life and Dean of Students

This message was sent to all undergraduate students, faculty and staff from Dr. Don Raber, provost of Presbyterian College. This message was forwarded to the Parents List on file with Campus Life. 

Students, Faculty, and Staff,

Over the weekend, the number of active student cases of COVID-19 on campus continued to increase, as did the number of students required to remain in quarantine. The numbers of faculty and staff cases are minimal at this time. Out of an abundance of caution, however, effective immediately we are moving to online/remote instruction for the next two weeks of classes for the undergraduate campus, to last through Sunday, October 25. Graduate programs are not impacted by this shift.

Faculty, please connect with students in your classes to ensure they know about this transition and to share plans for your individual classes. If there are any issues that result from moving classes online, please let my office know. Students, check your emails regularly for further notices from your professors, and let them know if there are technology issues connected to having classes online.

In addition to classes moving online, we will be communicating with you separately about:

• Shifting dining on campus to grab-and-go options
• Pausing all athletic and student activities on campus
• Limiting access to the fitness center
• Reducing access to classrooms and the library
• Modifying as needed on-campus work protocols and policies on gatherings

While undergraduate classes will be held remotely, all employees must clear with both their supervisor and the Vice President for Human Resources any other changes in existing work plans. Offices will be open, and staff will be available across campus. Employees must comply with all protocols on physical distancing, masks, and sanitizing.

Students are strongly encouraged to limit trips off campus unless it is to go to work, a grocery store, or a visit to a medical professional. Students on campus must follow guidelines on physical distancing, symptom monitoring, sanitizing, and masks. We will also limit all gatherings at this point: no exceptions. Students who violate any of our protocols will be required to leave campus immediately.

We are all in this together, and we will do what is needed to limit the spread of COVID-19 at PC.

Don Raber

Provost

This message was sent to all alumni from Leni Patterson ’83, Executive Director of Alumni Relations.

Hello, Fellow Blue Hose!

I hope this message finds you and your loved ones safe and healthy. Some of you most likely have seen the recent news related to the postponement of fall sports at PC and other schools.

“The Big South Conference announced that it is delaying its fall sports seasons with the intent of playing in the spring. Fall sports at PC affected by the conference’s decision include men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s soccer, and volleyball. Additionally, fall competitions in the sports of football, men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s tennis, and out-of-season competitions in spring sports have been suspended as well.”

We are deeply disappointed to share that the Big South’s decision prompted us to cancel our 2020 Homecoming Weekend festivities, reunions, and events. We love welcoming our Blue Hose home and will miss having you here this fall. In addition to the announcement to all alumni, there will be special communications for each reunion class. Our intent is to celebrate these classes at Homecoming 2021.

The Alumni Relations Office is working on various virtual events for this fall to bring our alumni together. We will be honoring virtually our 2020 Alumni Award recipients in October, and will bring them to campus for an in-person celebration in 2021. Watch for those special email announcements and social media posts.

We will begin posting a schedule of events for Fall 2020 in early September. Keep up with us on Facebook and Instagram and check out our events page often.

Thank you for your continued support, your understanding, and your love for Presbyterian College. Stay safe and well. Go Blue Hose!

On, on PC!

Leni Patterson ’83

Executive Director of Alumni Relations

This message was sent to all undergraduate students, faculty and staff from Dr. Don Raber, provost.

PC Undergraduate Students,

I hope everyone is doing great and enjoying the last few days and weeks of summer. I know many of you will be arriving on campus this week, and others will be joining us next week. Classes start in just two weeks, on Monday, August 17. Dr. Smith sent some reminders your way last week about our First Day Ready process, and Reagan Osbon ’21 shared with you the #ProtectPC Pledge and a video about everyone doing their part to slow the spread of COVID-19. Here are some other items for you to know as we prepare the 2020-2021 academic year:

The academic calendar for the fall term that you find in BannerWeb is out of date. Do not rely on it until we let you know and have it fixed. The dates you need to remember are:

• Classes start on Monday, August 17.
  • We are exploring extending the drop-add deadline to Wednesday, August 26. If that is finalized and approved, I will let you know.
  • The last day of fall term classes is Friday, November 20. We are exploring extending the withdrawal deadline to this date as well. If that is finalized and approved, I will let you know.
  • Fall term exams will be held from Sunday, November 22 to Wednesday, November 25.
• I will communicate any other changes to dates or academic policies as they are considered or approved by the faculty. For those of you returning to campus, there are no plans at this point to extend the pass/fail options adopted the faculty for the spring 2020 semester.
• Faculty have been working with me to finalize their plans for teaching this fall – whether classes will be held in person, in a hybrid model, or fully online. One of the incredible strengths of our faculty is their flexibility; another is their creativity; and the most important strength to me is their commitment to you and your success as students. More than 95% of their teaching plans have been finalized and discussed with me, and I have asked them to share those with you starting today.
• It is important that you watch for emails from the faculty this week outlining their plans: many classes will be in person, and many more will be in hybrid form. Roughly 10% of our classes will be completely online, as individual faculty have been approved to teach in that fashion, but there will be a good mix of hybrid approaches that reflect flexibility, creativity, and the commitment PC has made to in-person instruction for the fall semester. I encourage you to contact your faculty members if you have not heard from them about teaching plans by this time next week.
• Given that we believe an environment where we encourage as much personal, face-to-face interaction between faculty and students is a hallmark of a PC education, we are not offering a model for students to take all classes online, nor are we expecting faculty to teach all classes online.
• You may have seen other schools delaying the start of classes, beginning all classes online and then moving to in-person instruction, or offering alternatives to do classes either in-person or online. Again, there are no plans for these steps at PC: classes will begin as planned on Monday, August 17.
• I have had inquiries about attendance policies, and what students should do if they have symptoms of any illness and cannot attend class. If you have symptoms of an illness, the best advice I can give is: don’t go to class. I am encouraging faculty to be very flexible, both at the individual level and in departments, about attendance, but those policies are set at the departmental level. I encourage you as students to keep in regular contact with faculty if you have questions about specific class policies or syllabi.
• In classes, you will need to do what is required related to the use of masks, face coverings, physical distancing, and the use of personal protective equipment (PPE). There will be hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes across campus, and a small number of classes will be shifting locations (and even meeting outdoors).

Later this month, we will publish the college catalog for this upcoming academic year. We will have in a section in the catalog that highlights the changes to the academic experience for the year, and we will also highlight there the expectations we have for you as you begin your studies. In providing this information to you in the catalog, there is one change from what we sent last week: we are not pursuing at this time a separate acknowledgement of risk form that you will need to review and sign.

As I’ve highlighted throughout the summer, we are continuing to work daily to finalize and refine our plans for the fall term. With only two weeks to go until classes begin, we will continue to update the PC website and your PC email regularly as we provide additional information. Until then, be on the lookout for communications from your professors, and we will see you on campus soon.

Sincerely,
Don Raber
Provost

This message was sent to all undergraduate students from Reagan Osbon, Presbyterian College SGA President.

Good afternoon,

I know that I’m ready to return to campus, and hopefully, you are, too.

When we start this fall, the semester will look different than any semester any PC student has ever experienced. With students across the country returning to classrooms, athletic facilities, and residence halls, the resurgence of the pandemic couldn’t have come at a worse time.

But now is a chance for us to exhibit our campus ideals of service and honor so that we can return to normal in the future. Now is a time to serve our classmates, our teammates, our faculty, and College staff by signing the #ProtectPC Pledge.

The student body is the largest part of the PC community and has the largest part to play in keeping our campus safe. What we do at all times, but especially during this pandemic, affects our health and the health of those around us.

Together, we as students can lead the way in slowing it down by taking the necessary precautions.

Join me, and let’s all do our part to slow the spread by taking two steps:

1. Watch this video to know what you’re required to do this fall to help slow the spread.

2. Sign the #ProtectPC Pledge:

• “I understand that everyone in our campus community, including me, shares the responsibility for the health of the community. My individual effort is critical to the success of the 2020-2021 academic year.

• I will wear a mask or shield whenever appropriate to protect my fellow Blue Hose and myself.

• I will commit to engage in frequent handwashing and frequent cleaning of surfaces in residence halls, classrooms, and other spaces.

• I will adhere to the College’s social distancing and gathering guidelines in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19.

• I will monitor myself for symptoms of the virus and follow the College’s guidance for quarantine if I am exposed and for isolating if I am sick.”

Sign the #ProtectPC Pledge here »

The pandemic is changing all the time. PC can’t promise the next two semesters will be all in-person classes. It is possible that campus may have to close again if circumstances require, possibly even transitioning back to online learning.

We don’t want that. To give us a better chance of returning to normal and staying on campus for the whole semester, please sign the #ProtectPC Pledge and stand together to do our part to slow the spread.

I can’t wait to see you when we get back to campus and I look forward to a safe and happy semester.

As always, Go Blue Hose!

Reagan Osbon
Presbyterian College SGA President

This message was sent to all undergraduate students.

Good morning, Blue Hose!

I hope this email finds you and your family safe and healthy.

Can you believe we’re only two weeks away from move-in and three weeks from starting classes at PC? We are so excited about your arrival, and we want you to get ready for First Day Ready starting now.

Here are five quick reminders:

1. If you haven’t done so already, please sign up for a day and time to move in. Returning students can go here to sign up for move-in, and new students can go here to sign up for move-in.
2. Monitor your temperature and symptoms beginning today and continue every day including the day you arrive on campus. Be sure to ask your two move-in helpers to monitor themselves too!

Don’t come to campus if:

• You have a fever
• You have been exposed to anyone with Covid-19 in the last 14 days
• You have been out of the US in the last 14 days
• You have any of these symptoms related to Covid-19
  • cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fever of 100.4° or more, chills, repeated shaking with chills, muscle pain, sore throat, new GI symptoms, and/or loss of taste or smell.
• Contact us at campuslife@presby.edu if you have any of the above conditions so that we can arrange an alternative date for your arrival.

1. Be sure to pack face coverings, plenty of soap and hand sanitizer (if desired), and cleaning products for baths and hard surfaces. Of course, you‘ll be expected to wear your face coverings. We’re stepping up cleaning protocols in the public areas of campus. Your residence hall room, bathroom, and/or apartment will need special cleaning attention from you this fall as well.
2. On your scheduled day to arrive on campus, come to the area between the library and Richardson Hall for a health screening before going into the library for First Day Ready check-in. Please put on your face mask before you get out of your car. The first step in First Day Ready is a health screening. All students and helpers must pass the health screening to continue with check-in and move-in.
3. This Friday, check your PC email for a message about the #ProtectPC Pledge from SGA President Reagan Osbon asking everyone to make a commitment to follow safety and health precautions this fall. You will also receive an Acknowledgement of Risk Agreement to review, sign, and return during the First Day Ready process.

What you do at all times, but especially during this pandemic, affects your health and the health of those around you. Let’s take good care of one another.

This message was sent to all undergraduate students and the current parent’s list.

PC Undergraduate Students,

Last week, you received information about what to expect at PC this fall related to health screening and monitoring, physical distancing, face covering, increased cleaning, and limited gatherings on campus. I’m following up with some thoughts and plans related to your academic experience – what you should expect when classes begin in the College of Arts and Sciences on Monday, August 17.

Students, an incredibly dedicated faculty and staff is working on your behalf to prepare for the fall term. One of the hallmarks of a PC education is flexibility: individual faculty teach their classes in different ways, but we all share the desire to make PC the best institution of higher education it can be and to work with students to make each of you the best you can be.

So, what does all this mean for the fall term and the upcoming academic year? It means that in the last few weeks we have seen at PC:

• Faculty and staff engaged on their own time in training on how to deliver classes both in-person and remotely, so if circumstances mandate us to move classes exclusively online or to offer both in-person and virtual experiences we are prepared to do so.
  A new learning management system, BrightSpace, in place that is designed to do much more for faculty and students in how to engage each other and to access assignments and course materials.
• Academic departments engaged in active planning, both as individual faculty members and with each other, to discuss what is needed for technology in the classroom, for delivery of classes and labs, for interactions in office hours, and for adjusting policies and procedures for different course experiences. Individual courses will have individual solutions, and there is no one-size-fits-all standard that addresses all circumstances.
• Funds authorized to upgrade classrooms, computers, and facilities to prepare for multiple ways to learn.
• Faculty and staff members beginning on their own to move desks and try setups for physical distancing in the classroom, and sharing wisdom with each other as they prepare to deliver different types of experiences to students this year.

What does the fall semester look like, though, in practice? You will see and experience:

• A compressed calendar: we are going to run for 15 weeks straight, with no breaks. It’s a marathon, not a sprint, and you will need to persevere throughout so we can make sure to end the term by Thanksgiving and have you be safe and healthy throughout.
• An environment where we are encouraging as much personal, face-to-face interaction between faculty and students as we can: we believe, as we have since 1880, that these one-on-one and small group encounters are what make our model of education the best you can get.
• You should not presume, however, that 100% of all your classes and each one of your connections with faculty will occur in person: we are living through a pandemic, and for health and safety reasons – not just for you, but for those faculty and staff at PC personally committed to student success – we need to create an environment that addresses the risks inherent in personal interaction. Reducing those risks means limiting in-person interaction in classes as well as other areas.
• You will, for instance, probably have some classes that meet in a hybrid mode: you will have perhaps one day in class and then one day in a virtual environment with your instructor. If you are in a classroom, it will look very different: you will have to maintain and deal with physical distancing, where classes that previously filled to capacity are much more spread out. Locations for your classes may change, and, yes, 100% of the time you will have to wear a face covering. That is a requirement, not a partisan statement nor a negotiable outcome. Along with the use of hand sanitizer, limits on access to buildings, and the other provisions we have previously shared and will continue to develop, the use of face coverings is mandatory for all of us to be on campus this fall.
• Even with those protections in place, however, you will have some cases where, for different health and safety reasons, particular classes will need to be offered in an 100% online or virtual setting. I can’t predict what percentage of your individual classes will be online, and we will encourage in-person interaction or hybrid alternatives wherever feasible. Delivering on our mission to you will not compel us to take inappropriate risks on the health and safety of our employees, however, and online education will certainly be used in those instances where additional safeguards are warranted.
• We are still working on additional plans – what happens if students or faculty fall ill, for instance, and what options exist to catch up on or revisit any missed work. Faculty are also exploring whether to modify any additional academic policies and procedures as we approach the fall semester.
  • No matter which way your classes materialize this term, what will not change is the effort made by staff and faculty to deliver a top-notch education to you: whether in person or on-screen by Zoom, you will still have rigorous assignments, books and articles to read, papers to write, samples to analyze, arguments to make, discussions to hold, and conversations and lectures to make you think, to make you challenge yourself, and to make you work harder than you’d like at times but that will pay off in ways you cannot anticipate right now.

We are continuing to work daily to update and refine our plans for the fall term: these topics are moving targets, and flexibility is essential as we finalize decisions. When we do so, we will continue to update the PC website. Please continue to check there and your PC email regularly during the summer as we provide additional information.

This message was sent to all faculty and staff on Thursday, July 9, 2020.

Faculty and Staff Colleagues,

PC’s policies and protocols for responding to the COVID-19 pandemic are formulated to protect the health and safety of our community while ensuring that we deliver on our mission, with faculty, students, and staff engaging each other in meaningful ways during the fall term. You will find the Return to Campus Safety Guidelines on the Human Resources page within PC’s website. We continue to carefully monitor circumstances around the area and on campus, and we will refresh the guidelines as needed.

PC will review and assess requests for reasonable accommodations that, absent undue hardship, could offer protection to an employee who, due to a preexisting disability, is at higher risk of severe infection from COVID-19. Instructions covering the process for requesting accommodations and the required forms are posted to the HR page.

We look forward to welcoming you and our students to campus soon. For the health and safety of yourselves and others, please remember to use your face coverings, to engage in physical distancing, and to self-monitor for symptoms of COVID-19. Our beautiful campus has not been the same without you.

Sincerely,
PC Leadership Team

This message was sent to all undergraduate students.

This message was sent to all undergraduate students and the current parent’s listserv.

Good morning, PC students,

We’ve been busy this summer preparing to welcome you safely back to campus next month. Several groups comprised of professors, staff members, administrators, and students have met, and continue to meet, to discuss plans to reopen campus for the 2020-21 academic year.

As a member of the student body, you’re a significant part of the campus community. Your actions at all times, but particularly during the pandemic, affect your own health and safety as well as the health and safety of others.

Student input has been invaluable as we balance implementing the following precautions while delivering a first-quality academic program.

Health Screening and Monitoring

Please do your part to keep yourself and others on campus safe before you arrive on campus. Two weeks before you arrive, please self-monitor for COVID-19 by checking your temperature every day and noting any exposures or symptoms you may have. Please do not come to campus if you’re experiencing any symptoms or have been exposed to COVID-19.

The symptoms include:

• cough
• shortness of breath
• difficulty breathing
• fever
• chills
• repeated shaking with chills
• muscle pain
• headache
• sore throat
• new loss of taste or smell

The college has created a First Day Ready Check-in process for all students that will be located in the Thomason Library. Early next week, you will receive specific information about how to schedule a day and a time to arrive on campus for your First Day Ready Check-in. All students will use the reservation program called Sign Up Genius that was used for residence hall move-out scheduling in May.

The first step in your arrival will be screening for COVID-19. Any students who arrive on campus with a temperature of 100.4 or above or with any COVID symptom or recent exposure will need to return home for an appropriate period of quarantine.

Once on campus, you’ll be expected to check your temperature and self-monitor for symptoms every day. You’ll also be expected to report COVID-19 symptoms or exposure immediately to Student Health Services (https://www.presby.edu/campus-life/student-health-services/).

From there, you will be assisted in following the protocols for testing and quarantining during recovery. The college has set aside a limited number of rooms for isolating students who test positive for COVID-19 but cannot go home. Because the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends isolation of a person who tests positive for COVID-19 for 10 days, we will encourage all sick students to return home for their quarantine period if that is possible.

Physical Distancing

The CDC advises that “keeping space between you and others is one of the best tools we have to avoid being exposed to this virus and slowing its spread locally and across the country and world.”

Whenever feasible, you should maintain a distance of 6 feet from other individuals on campus. This is expected indoors and outdoors. Since practicing social distancing may be difficult in some indoor areas, we are identifying new spaces, reallocating existing rooms, and reconfiguring some classrooms to ensure this effective precaution.

Face Covering

On the day of your arrival on campus, you and those assisting you must wear face masks or shields for your own health and safety as well as the health and safety of others. You will receive a cloth mask and a protective face shield during check-in. You are expected to wear your personal protective mask or shield whenever maintaining 6 feet distance from others is not feasible.

Masks or shields must be worn:

• In academic and office areas and buildings. Face coverings are required in classrooms, in office areas, and in other campus facilities where people circulate within 6 feet of each other.
• In residential areas. The only exception to this is when students are within their own “PC residence family,” which includes roommates in your own room or apartment or suitemates in your own suite.
• In dining areas. You are required to wear a personal protective mask or shield in dining areas on campus except when you are seated to eat.
• Outside. You are required to wear a personal protective mask or shield whenever you’re within 6 feet of anyone outside on campus.

Increased Cleaning

The CDC continues to recommend protecting yourself by washing your hands for at least 20 seconds as well as cleaning and disinfecting surfaces that are frequently touched. Hard-working staff members continue to conduct frequent and thorough cleaning to increase safety and health in classrooms and labs. This increased cleaning will include dining facilities and all buildings on campus.

Limited Gatherings

As stated, social distancing is vital to slow the spread of COVID-19. To lower the risk of sharing the virus, the CDC recommends “smaller outdoor and in-person gatherings [where individuals] remain spaced at least 6 feet apart, wear cloth face coverings, do not share objects, and come from the same local area.” Since maintaining 6 feet of distance from others at events is practically impossible, some events have been canceled and others have been modified significantly or moved online.

This fall, the size of gatherings on campus will be limited. Obviously, the need to maintain physical distances and wear protective face coverings will make for a different out-of-class experience than what you might have experienced in the past at PC. Please know that we are working hard to plan for safe and healthy experiences outside class this semester. We would enjoy hearing your creative ideas for activities and small group events as well. Please email your ideas to Taylor Dement, the assistant director of student involvement, at tdement@presby.edu.

We’re in this Together

We understand that these precautions can be regarded as drastic measures. The pandemic has caused many around the world to make radical changes to their daily lives. With the recent surge of cases in the U.S., we believe it is urgent that we take extraordinary measures to provide for your health and safety when you return to campus next month.

As you know, the COVID-19 pandemic is constantly evolving. Please visit our Coronavirus Updates and Resources page to see how we’ve responded and continue to respond to the pandemic.

June 3, 2020, 3:38 p.m.

PC Announces Financial Changes to Secure the College’s Future

This email was sent to all Faculty and Staff on June 3, 2020, at 3:38 p.m.:

Dear Faculty and Staff,

For each of us, the past few months have been a time of adapting and making adjustments in all aspects of our lives. It has been amazing to observe the way our faculty, staff and students adjusted to teaching and learning online this past spring. While online instruction is not the way any of us wanted to complete the spring semester, we adapted and made it happen.

We began the fall of 2019 with our largest class of new students and the largest-ever total enrollment, including undergraduate and graduate students. We opened our new senior housing. And we welcomed our first class of PA students. It seems like such a long time ago, but, at that moment, we were on track with the anticipated outcomes set forth in The Promise of PC.

Then, without warning, came the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting economic collapse which changed our world. Ripples related to the pandemic impact all areas of life. Incomes of millions of Americans have been and continue to be significantly impacted. PC, along with colleges and universities throughout the country, have felt the impact and are making adjustments to reflect lost revenues and increased expenses. We are all operating in uncharted waters as we work to balance budgets during a time of uncertainty.

While enrollment and retention are never guaranteed, in the past we had historical references that allowed us to model, with some degree of certainty, our projected enrollment and revenues. But current conditions have rendered these models useless. This hinders our ability to confidently project anticipated revenues. In the midst of all the chaos and uncertainty, we did receive some good news: We secured CARES Act funding and an SBA loan which will help, but not balance, our budget over the next two years.

You are valued and essential to doing what we do so well. You enable us to deliver our mission to our students. This is why, when we transitioned to remote learning in March, we made the commitment to continue to pay all faculty and staff through the end of the spring semester.  We have honored this commitment.

While historical data does not provide good guidance in the current environment, we are encouraged by our deposits for the fall, although they are not in line with original projections for the upcoming year. It is important that we all continue to encourage new students to attend PC and current students to return.  We have developed models for the upcoming year which I would term “best guesstimates.” Currently we are trending toward our most likely model, which reflects a deficit of approximately $4 million. The actions we are announcing today will reduce this estimated deficit by approximately $3 million.

As we continue the work to address our deficit, we are reviewing all aspects of the College– administration, athletics and academics. Reviewing each area will contribute to creating a balanced budget for next year.

You might have noticed that some colleges are making drastic changes to their athletic programs as a way of balancing their budgets. We’re not making such changes because the actions being announced by these schools reflect the actions we took in 2017. We are not reopening the decisions made and implemented in 2017 regarding our athletic program. We remain on track to hit the savings targets set forth at that time.

This brings us to the decisions we are announcing today. These are decisions none of us want to make, as they are difficult but necessary decisions to secure the future of PC.

Today, with the endorsement of the PC Board of Trustees, we are announcing that, effective July 1, 2020, we are implementing the following actions:

• PC’s contribution to employee retirement accounts will be suspended for the 2020-21 fiscal year. Retirement contributions are an important component of our employee benefits. It is our intent to resume these contributions, but not make up the payments being suspended, as soon as possible after the 2020-21 fiscal year. It should be noted that our ability to resume contributions will depend on the financial and economic circumstances at that time.

Each employee may continue to contribute to his or her retirement plan up to the limits permitted by the IRS.

• Effective July 1, 2020, the salaries of employees will be reduced as follows:
  • The officers of the College recognize their responsibility to be part of the solution to the challenges we are facing. As a result, they will receive the following salary reductions:
    • President:                   20%
    • Provost:                      12%
    • Officers and AD            6%
  • Faculty and staff salaries will be reduced by 3% except those:
    • Hired after December 31, 2019
    • Who earn less than $30,000 annually
  • While we have considered implementing furloughs, we have decided, at this time, not to furlough employees. We may consider this option if conditions change.
• Voluntary early retirement programs:
  • We are developing a voluntary early retirement program for employees who meet certain criteria. The plan will be shared with employees when it is finalized.
  • The faculty voluntary early retirement program will continue to be available to eligible members of the faculty.
• Operating Budgets:
  • Nonessential travel has been eliminated. Nonessential travel is defined as all travel excluding travel pertaining to the President’s Office, the Office of Admission, the Office of Advancement, and the Department of Athletics. Any exceptions to the elimination of nonessential travel must be approved by the VP for Finance and Administration.
  • We are continuing to hold the hiring of new positions and are only hiring personnel needed to fill critical positions. Each position must be reviewed and approved through the College’s position approval process. Recruitment activity for such positions must not begin until the approval process is complete. Contact the VP of Human Resources if you have questions or want more information.
  • We are pursuing more effective use of endowment earnings, where permitted, to support operating budgets.

As I stated earlier, these are difficult decisions that impact each of us, but they are necessary for PC to continue to deliver our mission. In taking these actions, we have been able to reduce our deficit by approximately $3 million without permanently eliminating any positions. We are in a dynamic and fluid environment. I want to be clear that if circumstances and conditions change, including not being able to open on campus in the fall, we will review other options which could impact positions. No additional changes are planned as of today.

These decisions are difficult, but these unprecedented times require us to act. We value what you contribute to the life and work of PC and have tried to take actions that minimize the impact on your paycheck and make every effort to avoid eliminating positions.

We have the ability to get through this crisis and move PC forward. There is no question that these are challenging times. Together, we can embody the PC spirit and commitment of those who came before us and navigate these difficult times and continue to do what we do well—prepare students for a lifetime of personal and vocational fulfillment and responsible contributions to our democratic society.

Thank you for all you do each day to make PC a special place. We will continue to keep you posted as we prepare and finalize budgets for next year, and we will be sure to also keep you informed as we update and develop plans for the fall semester.

May 29, 2020, 5:20 p.m.

This email was sent to all Faculty, Staff, and Students on May 29, 2020, at 5:20 p.m. 

PC Students, Staff, and Faculty,

On May 15, I shared with you that a working group has been charged with doing the necessary work to prepare for opening on campus this fall. That work is accelerating. We are working carefully and thoroughly on how to manage public spaces on campus, how to address needs for personal protective equipment (PPE) and procedures for physical distancing, and what measures are required to deliver a first-quality academic program that offers the personal connections faculty, students, and staff treasure yet recognizes our top priority always will be the safety and health of our community in a highly uncertain environment.

As we prepare for the fall term, I want to share one important decision we have made that impacts all undergraduate students, faculty, and staff. (This change does not impact graduate programs.) We are modifying the fall 2020 undergraduate academic calendar to minimize travel during the semester, to recognize our current operating environment in the summer, and to provide extra flexibility in the late autumn and early winter if that environment changes. To that end, we are updating the academic calendar as follows:

• Classes on campus for the fall term will begin on Monday, August 17.
• There will be no fall break this year.
• Classes for the fall term will end on Friday, November 20.
• Final exams will occur on campus from the afternoon of Sunday, November 22 through mid-day on Wednesday, November 25.
• Students will not return to campus after Thanksgiving, November 26, until the start of the spring term, currently slated for Tuesday, January 5. If the spring semester dates change, we will provide ample notice to all of you.

We are making a couple of other date changes to accommodate this new calendar:

• Virtual orientation meetings for the incoming class occurring online will be completed by Friday, July 17. In-person orientation meetings will be held on campus on dates coinciding with new student resident move-in dates to be announced.
• Registration for incoming students will now begin at 7:00 a.m. on Thursday, July 9.
• We are modifying processes for new and returning student resident move-in on campus, to begin a week before classes begin. Please review emails you’ll receive from our Campus Life office about how move-in will work.
• Reporting dates for fall sport student-athletes may shift slightly due to the revised fall semester calendar. If you are a fall sport student-athlete scheduled to return to campus for preseason team training activities prior to the start of classes, watch for communications from the Athletic Department about potential new dates for you to return to campus.
• Opening Convocation will occur virtually on Friday, August 21. The dates and times for other Week of Welcome events will also change, and many events that would normally gather large numbers of students together may occur in the virtual realm instead. We will provide more information as those events and activities (such as New Student Assessment) are finalized.

To ensure that faculty, students, and staff engage each other in meaningful ways once classes on campus resume this fall, we will provide additional information throughout the next few weeks about housing, classroom life, athletic practices and events, and other aspects of the campus experience. As we’ve said before, we continue to monitor the world around us, and we will not hesitate to be flexible when circumstances require that.

We will continue to update the PC website, so please check there and your PC email regularly during the summer as we provide additional information.

Sincerely,
Don Raber
Provost

May 15, 2020, 4:30 p.m.

This email was sent to all Faculty, Staff, and Students on May 15, 2020, at 4:30 p.m. 

PC Students, Staff, and Faculty,

On April 27, President Staton announced that we intend to be open, on campus, as scheduled for the fall semester. PC remains committed to providing the best possible experience—consistent with our mission, for everyone in our community—from brand new students in the class of 2024 to longtime staff, faculty, and friends of PC.

President Staton also highlighted that a working group has been charged with assessing the necessary preparation to be successful for the fall semester and the 2020-2021 academic year in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.

The work of that group is now well underway to develop operational plans, aligned with guidance from health officials, for opening PC this fall. Together, we are examining needs for physical distancing in classroom spaces as we plan for fall courses, ways to deliver particular experiences remotely where appropriate while maintaining in-person connections, options for gathering people in both residential facilities and athletic venues, requirements for COVID-19 testing and contact tracing, and other procedures necessary for operating the campus under different scenarios. Many factors are under consideration in each area on campus, and our top priority always will be the safety and health of our community in a highly uncertain environment.

Throughout the summer, we will provide you with regular updates on our progress to prepare for the fall term on campus. We continue to monitor the world around us, and we will not hesitate to be flexible when circumstances require that of us. We intend to have students, staff, and faculty on campus this fall, but things may not look exactly like you might expect as we develop and implement our plans. I want to assure you, though, that we will provide the best information we have as it develops.

We will continue to update the PC website, so please check there and your PC email regularly during the summer as we provide additional information.

Sincerely,
Don Raber
Provost

This email was sent to all Faculty, Staff and Students on May 9, 2020 at 11 a.m. 

May 9, 2020

PC Family,

We’re missing everyone on campus, especially this weekend! Though we are unable to be together in person for Commencement exercises right now, we are definitely planning to honor our class of 2020 graduates, on campus, when and as circumstances permit.

Save these tentative dates, and we will send out more details as we get closer to these events:

• Hooding Ceremony, School of Pharmacy – Saturday, August 22, 2020
• Baccalaureate Service, College of Arts and Sciences – Friday, October 2, 2020
• Commencement Celebration, College of Arts and Sciences – Saturday, October 3, 2020

I ask faculty, staff, and all other students to please join me in offering best wishes to the class of 2020. Graduates, we look forward to having you back on campus to celebrate your achievements!

Respectfully,
Dr. Donald R. Raber II
Provost

This email is being sent on behalf of the VP for Campus Life and Dean of Students. 

Dear students,

Campus Life is excited to announce the plans for Presbyterian College residential areas move-out now that the governor has eased social restrictions. We have been working on a move-out process that will allow you to safely gather your belongings and successfully check out from your room assignment for the year. Please see the link in the message from Residence Life below to sign up for the day and time of your move.

We appreciate the patience you have shown during this unprecedented time. We trust that you will follow all of the instructions carefully to ensure the safety and health of your family, friends and the PC community.

Sincerely,

Joy Smith
Vice President for Campus Life and Dean of Students

Information on how to check out of your room and answers to the most frequently asked questions can be found on our website.

To schedule a time to move out, sign up here https://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040b48a9ac23a0fa7-maymove.

You may bring no more than two (2) other people with you, if absolutely necessary, to assist you in packing and removing your belongings. Coordinate with your roommates and/or suitemates to ensure that you are not scheduled at the same time, unless you are designating each other as the person who is helping you.  No more than three people may be assisting in moving out a room at any time.

We ask that you keep the following in mind as you are moving out:

• Please either wear and change gloves or wash your hands regularly.
• Face masks are strongly recommended.
• Do not prop open doors or allow others to enter with you.
• SC DHEC recommends people maintain at least 6 feet of distance from others while in public.

DATES AND TIMES:
Move-out times will begin with 8:00 a.m. on Sunday, May 10. Times will go in three-hour increments through 8:00 p.m. each day through Sunday, May 24. To ensure that everyone has adequate time and space to move belongings, we are asking that you take no longer than three hours to pack and remove your belongings from the building. No one will be permitted to stay overnight in the residential facilities. If you have already moved out, please email reslife@presby.edu to let us know that you have moved out of your room and if you have already returned your key.

The Campus Life Staff will remain available by phone during the posted move-out hours.  You may call the West Campus (Georgia, Smyth, New Apartments, and Scottish Arms) RA Duty Phone at 864-872-0958 or the East Campus (Clinton, Belk, Grotnes, CIH, Barron, Spradley, Reynolds, Townhouses, Fraternity Houses, and MSU) RA Duty Phone at 864-872-0979 if you have questions or need to contact us.

KEYS:
If you have lost your key, please email us and let us know.  If you have already removed everything from your room and need to mail your key to us, please ensure that you use a padded envelope. Standard business envelopes will tear open in mail sorters and the key will be lost in transit. All keys should be returned shortly after the move-out deadline and may be sent to:

PC Residence Life
207 East Maple St.
Clinton, SC 29325

INSPECTIONS AND DAMAGE:
The Residence Life staff will wait until after May 24 to complete room inspections and damage billing.  If damage has occurred in your room, please have the person responsible for the damage email reslife@presby.edu with their name, ID number, and the damage that was caused. Use subject line: Room Damage in [Your Building/Room Number].

MAIL:
Students who have any remaining mail or packages can pick them up as they move out during regular mailroom hours.  The mailroom will be open from 8:30 a.m. – noon and 1:00 – 5:00 p.m. Monday-Friday.

EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCES:
Students who are unable to move out during the scheduled dates/times will need to email the Residence Life Office at reslife@presby.edu with as much information as possible regarding their situation.

We appreciate you following these instructions for everyone’s safety.  If you have any questions or concerns, please email us at reslife@presby.edu.

Sincerely,

The Residence Life Staff

Send to students, parents, faculty, and staff on April 27, 2020, at 4:30 p.m.

Dear Students, Parents, Faculty, and Staff,  

Over the last two months, our world has changed in dramatic, unexpected, and challenging ways. As we approach final exams in both the College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Pharmacy, I am grateful for the dedication to excellence and generosity of spirit I have seen each and every day in the PC community. We continue to show this dedication to excellence and generosity of spirit as we all grapple with our current circumstances and strive to achieve our mission in a very different environment than when the semester began. 

The safety and well-being of our community remains our top priority. As the leadership team and I continue to monitor daily the COVID-19 outbreak, we are taking the following steps to manage campus life over the summer and to begin planning for the fall semester. 

Residence Hall Move-Out

For students with belongings in residence halls, Residence Life will communicate with you soon our process for how you will reclaim those belongings. Please watch for the communication by e-mail. You must use the process we outline there: It is important to maintain social distancing and compliance with state orders as we ensure you can retrieve what is yours from our facilities. Please know we are closely following the SC Governor’s directives, and, right now, the directives continue to be to “stay at home.”  

Summer Classes and Events 

Classes in the undergraduate program and the physician assistant studies curriculum will remain online through the summer terms. Those of you who have already registered for on-campus summer classes will have your registration automatically converted to online sections before classes begin. There is nothing you need to do, and your registration will remain in place. 

If you are enrolled in on-campus classes (not P4 rotations) in the pharmacy program, those will be online for June and determined later for July. Please contact Dr. Shealy for additional details. 

The Office of Academic Success will continue to provide virtual assistance for our undergraduates this summer. Our graduate programs will continue to offer academic support as well. If you are planning an internship for the summer, you will need to complete this virtually unless you receive a waiver from the Provost’s office. Students participating in this summer’s research programs (Summer Fellows, SC-INBRE, PRSI) will work remotely. 

To comply with social distancing guidelines and maximize safety for our guests, we are not offering programming or on-campus camps and activities through our Campus Life office or Athletic department for the months of June and July. Coaches will not hold their summer sports camps, nor will off-campus groups host camps at PC. 

Residential facilities will be closed, and events on campus will only be scheduled with approval by the leadership team.

The CHAMPS program, which marks its 25th anniversary in 2020, will not be held on the Presbyterian College campus this summer. CHAMPS families and those working with CHAMPS are being contacted now to investigate the possibility of virtual engagement opportunities for June.

Future Planning 

Although much needs to be done to prepare for a virtual summer for PC, we are maintaining the arrangements we have set for those of you working from home through the end of May. Over the next few weeks, we will continue to communicate with our faculty and staff if circumstances change in order to move successfully through the summer months. 

With all the work to move online for the summer, the fall semester will be here before we know it. I know many of you are wondering what PC plans to do for the next academic year, especially if the COVID-19 outbreak remains, as expected, an ongoing concern for the next several months. 

As of today, our plan is to open on-campus, as scheduled, for the fall semester. 

If the last two months have taught us anything, however, it is that we will need to be responsive to changes in our environment, nimble in offering options that meet the needs and challenges of our students, staff, and faculty, and flexible in developing creative alternatives that meet our situation head-on. Most important, though, we can, and must, be committed to maintaining a first-quality education that delivers on our mission and prepares students more than ever for responsible contributions to a world community that needs them more than ever before.    

While we plan to proceed as normal for the fall, I have asked the Provost, Dr. Raber, to lead a working group that will prepare us to be successful for the fall semester and the 2020-2021 academic year in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. The group will determine different strategies for us to consider and provide us those creative alternatives to explore so that we can, and will, deliver the best education we may for our students next year. 

We will keep you updated as we move through the summer. As I have said before, we will do our best to provide answers and more information as we have it, and I am confident we will be successful as we address the challenges we face together.

Sincerely,
Bob Staton
President
Presbyterian College

Sent to students on Monday, April 20, 2020 at 4:55 p.m.

Undergraduate students,

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Presbyterian College has credited a prorated amount to the accounts of eligible campus residents for any unused room and board fees incurred this semester.

Please click the Remittance Form link below to learn how to view the amount of your credit for room and board charges for the Spring 2020 semester. Also, use the Remittance Form to select how you want your credit to be processed.

Please complete the Remittance Form by April 24 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Student accounts with a credit balance for which a form is not returned will have the credit balance remitted by either direct deposit (if current instructions are on file) or mailing a check to the student’s home address.

Please email the Business Office at busofcbills@presby.edu or call 864-833-8477 if you have questions.

Sent to students, faculty, and staff on Wednesday, April 15, 2020 at 5:12 p.m.

Dear undergraduate students and parents,

I hope that you are well and are staying safe while away from campus. With the semester quickly coming to a close, I encourage you to invest the time and energy to finish strong this semester.

When I emailed you on March 27, I noted that we were working to address the issue of remittances for housing and dining services for the period you’ve been away from campus. I’m pleased to let you know that we will be crediting a portion of those charges you paid this semester to your student account. The details of how the credit will be calculated is below.

The prorated room and board credit is a result of the College’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In an effort to protect the health of the campus community, the College followed the recommendations of national experts to practice social distancing and moved academic instruction to online delivery. Following this same guidance, we also restricted students from returning to campus after spring break.

Students participating in any room and board plan during the Spring 2020 semester will receive a prorated credit to the student’s account for unused room and board fees incurred this semester.

The Spring 2020 semester includes 16 weeks. The credit for room and board fees will be prorated to cover the period from the end of PC’s regular spring break on March 16 through May 1, the scheduled date for closing residence halls. This equates to seven weeks.

The credit will be calculated for each student based on direct charges paid by the student for the semester after adjusting for grant aid applied to the student’s account. Grant-in-aid includes scholarships and grants from institutional, state and federal sources. An example formula for calculating a student’s credit follows this email.

If a student has an outstanding balance, the credit will be applied to the outstanding balance before calculating the amount you will receive.

All affected students will receive an email on Monday, April 20 detailing any credit related to PC’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The email will also include a form for a student to select how they would like any remaining credit balance on their account to be processed.

A student can select any of the following options for processing any remaining credit balance. A remaining credit balance: 

• can be credited to a student’s Fall 2020 charges
• can be remitted to the student via check or existing direct deposit instructions
• can be donated to helping PC continue to provide an exceptional education for our students during these challenging times

Campus is not the same without you. We look forward to the time we can be back together. Best wishes for the remainder of this semester. Stay well, safe and remember to help one another during these challenging times.

For more information about COVID-19 and the steps PC is taking to maintain the safety and health of our campus community, please visit our Coronavirus Updates and Resources page.

Sincerely,

Bob Staton
President, Presbyterian College

An example calculation for an individual remittance is as follows:

Sent to students, faculty, and staff on Tuesday, April 14, 2020 at 4:48 p.m.

Graduating Students,

We plan to reschedule as many of the activities of graduation weekend as we can, including the Hooding Ceremony for the School of Pharmacy, the Teacher Induction Ceremony, Baccalaureate, and our 137th Commencement. As we do so, we will work to include as many of the traditions of this special time as we can, including the walk-through of Neville Hall, the presentation during Commencement of speeches from our Outstanding Senior and the Professor of the Year, and the different events and services in Belk Auditorium, Kuhne Auditorium and Edmunds Hall.

We will plan for a weekend later this summer or in the fall for these events, although given the fluid circumstances we’re facing together, we have not picked the dates as yet.

If you successfully graduate from either the School of Pharmacy or the College of Arts and Sciences this spring, we do plan to ship you your diploma in mid-May.

One option we are considering is to present your diploma covers at the rescheduled events. If you would like to participate in a rescheduled ceremony and want us to do this for you, please let the Office of the Registrar know by Monday, May 11, whether you would like your diploma cover to be shipped to you alongside your degree. Contact the office at registrar@presby.edu. Otherwise, we’ll hold your cover and present it to you in person later this summer or fall.

Although we will make the final decision about when to hold a rescheduled graduation weekend based on ensuring the safety and well-being of everyone in the PC family, if you have a preference for a new date for the ceremony, please let the Office of the Registrar know at registrar@presby.edu by Monday, May 11.

We will continue to provide updates as we finalize plans to celebrate you, the class of 2020, and your significant achievements throughout your time at PC.

Sincerely,
Dr. Raber

Sent to students, parents, faculty, and staff on Friday, March 27, 2020 at 12:10 p.m.

Dear Students, Parents, Faculty, and Staff,

The world is a different place than it was even a month ago. Over the past few weeks, the leadership team, our COVID-19 working group, and I have met regularly to discuss how to navigate PC through this unprecedented time.

As we have evaluated the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, we’ve kept the safety of the campus community as our top priority. We’ve made all of our decisions to ensure, as much as we may, students, faculty and staff, as well as the Clinton community, will remain safe during this ongoing pandemic.

Transitioning to online classes, which we did earlier this month in our graduate programs and this week for our undergraduate students, was a difficult decision to make. But it was the right call.

Today, we find ourselves with deep regret making another difficult decision designed to keep everyone in the PC Family safe: We’ve decided to extend remote learning for the undergraduate campus through the remainder of the spring 2020 semester, including final exams for undergraduates in late April and early May. Students at the School of Pharmacy and in the Physician Assistant Studies program will also continue their classes online and will complete their semesters remotely.

Commencement

For those of you completing requirements and planning to graduate on May 8 for the pharmacy school and May 9 for the undergraduate college, we will issue your diplomas effective on those dates and send them to you by postal mail, but we will need to reschedule our Commencement activities for a later date. I look forward to addressing the graduating classes each spring, and I know this is the signature event for our campus. I am, like many of you, heartbroken about this change, but I promise we will develop a way we may properly recognize your academic achievements and celebrate the traditions of that weekend, including the granting of hoods to our pharmacy graduates and the walk through Neville Hall for our seniors. We will communicate an updated plan for this year’s Commencement activities by Wednesday, April 15.

I understand this news is heartbreaking for students, many of whom say they knew they found their college home the moment they arrived on campus. My heart goes out to all students, especially the seniors and P4’s, who were looking forward to spending their last semester on campus. Campus simply won’t be the same without students here.

It saddens me to think about our students not eating together in GDH and Springs, not hanging out in their residence halls, not preparing for their futures in classrooms across campus. However, heeding the advice of the CDC and DHEC is what we must do now to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Sadly, that means closing campus completely for the rest of the semester.

Student Housing

The Residence Life office is working on a plan for students to return to campus to retrieve their belongings. As we develop this plan, we will proceed in a manner that follows good health practices to ensure the safety and well-being of our students and loved ones who return to campus with them. We will communicate this plan in the next few days.

Since students will not reside on campus the rest of the academic year, we are also working to address the questions many of you have raised about remittances for housing as well as dining services. That is an ongoing process, and we will communicate more information as well as options for students and families by Wednesday, April 15.

We’ll Get Through These Challenging Times

We live in challenging times. We’ll get through this challenge together, as we’ve gotten through other challenges we’ve faced. Students, you may be hundreds or even thousands of miles away from campus, but PC is as much your home now as it ever was. I am eager to see you on campus when it is safe for us to have you back in Clinton.

Until then, I ask that students continue to put the same amount of effort into their courses as they would if they were sitting in Neville, Jacobs, Richardson, HP, or the PCSP building. Professors and staff members remain ready and willing to help students navigate these challenges we all face.

As you know, the COVID-19 outbreak remains a fluid situation. We will provide more details about our next steps as they become available. We are working on these matters constantly, and we will do our best to provide answers and more information a we have it. We’ll continue to update the community about our response to the pandemic on our Coronavirus Updates and Resources page.

We will overcome this challenge together.

With sincerity,
Bob Staton ‘68

Dear PC Community:

As the undergraduate campus resumes classes this week online, and as both pharmacy and physician assistant studies are continuing their classes online, I’m writing to thank all of you for your commitment and hard work as we continue delivering on our mission of preparing our students for lives of personal and vocational fulfillment and responsible contribution to a rapidly changing and uncertain world around us.

Within this temporary reality of online classes, working remotely, and tremendous disruption everywhere you look, I imagine that many of you are experiencing some anxiety and discomfort, especially in not knowing what comes next. It’s hard on everyone, me included. It would be easy to stand still, or to retreat into a wait-and-see mode on everything. What is easy is not always right, however, and we need to move forward and adapt to this new environment. PC, along with most educational institutions around the country, from Pre-K to Ph.D., has made this rapid shift because it is what this moment in time requires of us.

Many have worked countless hours over the past few weeks to engage all of us in this transition to online learning, and I am very proud of what I have seen and heard from PC students, faculty, staff, alumni, board members, and others who have worked diligently to work through this process of change. I am impressed by how the spirit of PC has risen to the challenge of the moment.

With any change as significant as this, I would encourage us to remember that many of us – students, faculty, and staff – will have a true learning curve as we go online, and we need to acknowledge that some items may not work as anticipated. When they don’t, we should be open to innovation, change, trial and error, and adaptation along the way. We must also be patient with each other and work together to find solutions as we encounter problems. We will bring different perspectives to online delivery and remote work, and those need to be recognized. Communications will be critical, and we must be attuned to the need for information among those we serve.

I also imagine that, with the anxiety and discomfort that comes with uncertainty for us and our loved ones, we all have questions for which there are no answers at this time or that have answers that change from day to day. Some of our families, furthermore, have already been impacted by current events, and the closing of many businesses has a long reach and will touch most of us. On a personal note, at least two of my adult children and their families have been impacted.

In times of extreme uncertainty, I sometimes find myself getting distracted by things over which I have no control instead of focusing on things I can impact. Over the years, I have found that focusing on the things we can control, such as how we do our jobs, how we respond to each other, and how we take care of ourselves enables us to move forward even when surrounded by uncertainty.

Over the coming weeks I would ask each of us to focus on where we can make the most impact. I encourage:

Our great students to embrace remote learning and treat course work and studying with the same seriousness of purpose as you would on campus. This is a key moment in attaining your college degree. Don’t just try to get by – commit to excelling. This positive approach will benefit you throughout your life.

Our outstanding faculty to continue to deliver, just in a different manner, their courses with the same quality and commitment they have always demonstrated.

Our exceptional staff to maintain its commitment to carrying out different tasks, just away from campus. The work of PC continues across campus life, admission, advancement, marketing, campus services, academic affairs, athletics, alumni relations, and numerous other areas.

All the PC family (students, faculty, staff, alumni and supporters) to come together as never before to show others how we join, as one, during challenging times to continue to deliver on PC’s mission in this time of change.

I have confidence that, together, we will successfully manage the challenges ahead of us. Although the future will be different in ways we cannot predict, as a collective community we can and will adapt to the world we find on the other side of the current crisis and successfully move forward.

PC was created 140 years ago with faith as a cornerstone. I pray each day for God’s guidance and to open our hearts and minds to God’s will in all we do. We are sustained, particularly in times like these, by our various support systems. Faith, family and friends have served to sustain me over the course of my life. I consider you to be my family and friends, and I know we can and will get through these stressful times and create success in the days that lie ahead.

Thanks again for the great work you have done and will do to prepare to deliver our educational programs remotely! Be well in the coming days.

With sincerity,
Bob Staton ’68

Sent to faculty, staff, students and parents on March 16, 2020, at 6:15 p.m.

PC’s leadership team continues to closely monitor the spread of the coronavirus throughout South Carolina, the U.S., and the world. The team met this morning to discuss various aspects of campus operations given the newest information regarding our response to the ongoing global health situation. Please know that we are working through many topics within a constantly changing landscape, but what remains constant is our commitment to the health and well-being of each member of our community. 

Classes

Students in the College of Arts and Sciences will remain on spring break during the week of March 16 – 22. We will begin online instruction on Monday, March 23 to last through Thursday, April 9. During that period of time, we will evaluate circumstances to determine the potential for resuming classes on campus after Easter Break on Tuesday, April 14.

As we transition to online instruction, we recognize that students will need to have access to residence halls and campus housing in order to retrieve needed books, clothing, and other items for the next few weeks. Our Residence Life Office will be sending a separate communication to students later this evening about how we will manage access and provide opportunities for students to get what they need in a timely and safe manner.

Our Arts and Sciences faculty have begun the process of transitioning to online instruction beginning next week. The Office of Information Technology and the Office of Academic Affairs will be providing additional resources to faculty over the next week to assist with this transition and to prepare students for the challenges of working online, including internet access, availability of equipment, and delivery on learning outcomes. Students will also receive additional information by email that includes recommendations and resources as we pursue this transition into virtual teaching.  

College housing 

As part of the transition to online instruction, we do not anticipate students should live on campus unless there is a documented exemption in place that has been approved by our Office for Residence Life. Requests for exemptions may be addressed to reslife@presby.edu. If you do not have an exemption from Residence Life, you will be asked to return home. 

College facilities 

We will provide dining options through Greenville Dining Hall for students with residential exemptions who do remain on campus. These will be available this week, including the weekend. The food court in Springs Campus Center and fitness center will be closed effective Tuesday, March 17. Access to Templeton Center and other athletic facilities will be restricted, as will access to most academic buildings. The library will remain open from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday. Many of the services offered by the library are delivered virtually. More information may be found at Library web pages.  

Events

All on-campus events are canceled effective immediately through Monday, April 13. The leadership team will determine at a later date the status of events scheduled for Tuesday, April 14, and later, but plans for Commencement on Saturday, May 9 remain in place at this time.

Travel

All non-essential domestic and international travel by faculty and staff will be suspended through Monday, April 13. Jeff Scaccia, vice president for finance and administration, will determine if any trips before then are considered essential.

Room and board refunds

We have received questions about the possibility of refunds on room and board given the transition to online instruction. The leadership team is exploring options in this area, but no decisions will be made until we have determined the length of time students will be off campus and engaged in online instruction. 

Offices open 

College offices will remain open during this transition to online instruction. Those employees who have a demonstrated need to work remotely should contact their leadership team member as soon as possible for approval and documentation. 

Conclusion 

The coronavirus pandemic has created unprecedented challenges for everyone throughout the world, not just in the PC community. Please keep those directly impacted already in your thoughts and prayers, and please know that we will continue to monitor the situation and will update you when we have more information to provide. The latest updates can be found on our Coronavirus Updates and Resources page. 

If you have any questions or concerns in the meantime, please email us.

Sincerely, PC Leadership Team

Sent to students and student-athletes who are currently staying on campus

Extended Spring Break Dining Hours

GDH opens Sunday, March 15 at 5 p.m.  The weekend hours apply to March 21 & 22.
Greenville Dining Hall will operate during the extended spring break with the following hours:

Monday – Friday:
Breakfast: 7:00 – 9:30 a.m.
Lunch: 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Dinner: 5 – 7:30 p.m.

Saturday – Sunday:
Brunch: 10:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Dinner: 5 – 7:30 p.m.

Springs Food Court is closed.

A few service changes you will see include:

• Pre-plated entrees, sides, sandwiches and sweets
• Breads, bagels and ice cream cones are available upon request
• Napkins are available at the service platforms
• Using a fresh cup for each trip to the beverage stations

High touch areas will have extra attention in the cleaning schedule.

March 12, 2020, 12:44 p.m.

Dear Students, Parents, Faculty, and Staff,

Since Spring Break began six days ago, you have undoubtedly seen a number of reports about the spread of COVID-19 (the coronavirus) throughout the United States. You may have also seen or heard information about the impact of COVID-19 on businesses, public events, local schools, colleges and universities across the country.

As of noon on Thursday, March 12, there are no instances of COVID-19 at PC, in Clinton, or in Laurens County, and only 10 instances across the state of South Carolina.

A COVID-19 working group on the PC campus has been in discussions each day this week about how to proceed with this rapidly evolving situation. The health and safety of everyone in the PC community is our first and foremost priority. We want to be sure all students, faculty and staff work and live in an environment where the risks of COVID-19 are minimized as much as possible.

To accomplish this in the short term, we have decided to extend Spring Break for the campus of the College of Arts and Sciences through Sunday, March 22. No classes for undergraduate students will be held on campus during the week of Monday, March 16 to Friday, March 20. The PC School of Pharmacy and the PC School of Health Professions will send separate communications to faculty, staff, and students about any modifications in the pharmacy and physician assistant studies programs later this afternoon.

Here is additional information to assist in your planning for the next 10 days:

• Only those undergraduate students who have obligations on campus (i.e. – participation on an active athletic team) should remain in residential facilities from now through Sunday, March 22. Otherwise, students are not return to campus until we provide additional notice. If you do not have a safe place to stay, please contact the Office of Residence Life at reslife@presby.edu as soon as possible to explore alternative housing options.
• The working group on campus will determine by 5 p.m. on Thursday, March 19 whether we resume classes on campus on Monday, March 23 or move to virtual, online instruction in the undergraduate program on that date. During this next week, our faculty will be working to prepare online alternatives for those classes offered on campus, and we want to use the next week wisely to prepare to deliver a strong and vibrant academic experience however we decide to proceed during this extraordinary situation.
• Even as we extend Spring Break through Sunday, March 22, the College will continue to operate on our current schedule. Faculty and staff across campus will continue to work normal hours, and we will provide a variety of dining, library and other services to those students who will remain on campus next week.
• We are actively reviewing events to be held on campus over the next few weeks, and we will work with individuals as necessary to continue or modify those gatherings as appropriate.
• For those faculty and staff with travel plans (either domestic or international), we ask that you confirm those plans with the officer in your area before embarking on your trip. While travel is not suspended, we ask that you clear those trips in advance.
• Athletic events on campus remain in place. Visitors to campus remain welcome, but we ask that those with illnesses caused by COVID-19 or who have symptoms including fever, cough or shortness of breath not visit campus at this point.

Given the ongoing threat to public health represented by COVID-19, it is vital that we be flexible in how we work, diligent in how we approach this extraordinary circumstance, charitable to one other in how we react to change, and committed to our shared success in ways we could have not anticipated even at the beginning of the semester.

As we have said previously, you should practice good hygiene, including:

• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds especially after you have been in a public place, or after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing.
• If soap and water are not readily available, use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol. Cover all surfaces of your hands and rub them together until they feel dry.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
• Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
• Put distance between yourself and other people if COVID-19 is spreading in your community. This is especially important for people who are at higher risk of getting very sick.
• Take steps to protect others.
• Stay home if you are sick, except to get medical care. Learn what to do if you are sick.
• Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze or use the inside of your elbow.
• Throw used tissues in the trash.
• If you are sick:  You should wear a facemask when you are around other people (e.g., sharing a room or vehicle) and before you enter a healthcare provider’s office. If you are not able to wear a facemask (for example, because it causes trouble breathing), then you should do your best to cover your coughs and sneezes, and people who are caring for you should wear a facemask if they enter your room. Learn what to do if you are sick.
• If you are not sick: You do not need to wear a facemask unless you are caring for someone who is sick (and they are not able to wear a facemask). Facemasks may be in short supply and they should be saved for caregivers.
• Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces daily. This includes tables, doorknobs, light switches, countertops, handles, desks, phones, keyboards, toilets, faucets, and sinks.
• If surfaces are dirty, clean them: Use detergent or soap and water prior to disinfection.

As a leadership team, we recognize this is a situation that is challenging, frustrating, and concerning for everyone in the PC community. The COVID-19 working group will continue to meet regularly to address factors as they develop, and we will continue to inform you as soon as we have more information to provide.

We are developing an email account you may use for any questions you have about PC’s response to this ongoing situation: Please email us with questions.

Sincerely,
PC Leadership Team

March 11, 2020, 2:30 p.m.

Dear Faculty, Staff, Students, and Parents,

The College’s main priority is always the safety of everyone on campus. The working group continues to monitor the current situation and will provide an update by noon tomorrow (Thursday, March 12).

March 4, 2020, 2:52 p.m.

The following message regarding the coronavirus was delivered to students, faculty, staff and parents on March 4: 

Dear Students, Faculty, Staff, and Parents,

As you prepare for Spring Break next week, we want you to have the latest information related to the coronavirus and to update you on the work the College is doing to continuously monitor and prepare any needed response for the ongoing situation.

Presbyterian College’s main priority remains the health and safety of everyone on campus. As you may have seen in the news, there are now over 100 coronavirus cases in the United States that are spread over 15 states. There are currently no identified cases in South Carolina, however, and in that context the current threat to the PC community is still considered to be low.

You may have seen that some universities are withdrawing students from current international programs and cancelling upcoming study away trips. College officials are in regular communication with those students who are off campus, as well as their host schools, and given where our students are in Europe this semester, we do not anticipate an immediate cessation of our programs. We will continue to monitor this, however, and we will make sure to keep both students who are away from PC this semester and those who are planning travel later this spring posted about their current and potential trips.

Since many of you will be leaving PC to pursue fun experiences over Spring Break, however, we want to strongly encourage you to be safe and healthy as you do so.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), you can help stop the coronavirus by knowing the signs and symptoms:

• Fever
• Cough
• Shortness of breath

The CDC recommends keeping yourself and others healthy by:

• Washing your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after going to the bathroom; before eating; and after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing
• Avoiding touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands
• Staying home when you are sick
• Covering your cough or sneezing with a tissue, then throwing the tissue in the trash

If you’re planning to travel over Spring Break, please see the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website for frequently asked questions regarding travel. There, you will see that the “CDC provides recommendations on postponing or canceling travel. These are called travel notices and are based on assessment of the potential health risks involved with traveling to a certain area.” For more information, you should visit https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/index.html.

College officials continue to monitor this significant public health concern. Members of the leadership team have engaged in conversations with academic department chairs, directors across campus offices and programs, and others responsible for implementing potential plans if a coronavirus outbreak were to impact South Carolina, Laurens County, or PC in the near term. To be clear, we anticipate no changes in our campus operations at this time, and you should plan to keep your normal schedule in place both next week and later this spring. 

A working group is in place, however, in order to continue our conversations and to implement and share any updated plans as necessary. In doing so, we will keep you posted regularly by email as well as by notices on the webpage we have developed to share new information as we receive it about the coronavirus and its spread. You may find this at: https://www.presby.edu/campus-life/counseling-health/campus-health-notice-novel-coronavirus/.

We want everyone on campus to have a great spring break, but as you do please be safe and healthy wherever you may be.

Thank you,

PC Leadership Team

FEBRUARY 28, 2020, 3:55 p.m.

The following message regarding the coronavirus was delivered to students, parents, faculty, and staff on Feb. 28:

Dear Students, Parents, Faculty, and Staff,

Over the last few weeks, you have likely heard about the coronavirus that originated in Wuhan, China. We are writing to you today to update you on news related to the virus and to share precautions the College is taking as we continuously monitor the situation.

Outbreaks of new viruses are always a public health concern, and the College’s main priority is always the safety of everyone on campus. Please be assured that the current threat to the Presbyterian College community, and to the United States, is considered low.

As of today, the “United States has 60 known cases of the infection, with 59 among people who traveled to Asia or were close contacts of people who went there. The vast majority, 42, picked up the virus while quarantined on the Diamond Princess cruise ship off Japan,” according to The Washington Post.

There have been no reported deaths as a result of the coronavirus in the U.S.

College officials are in constant communication with local health providers and with the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control. A protocol is in place to treat anyone who may be affected by the coronavirus. It is important to note that there are no confirmed cases of the coronavirus on campus, in the local community or in the state of South Carolina.

The College will implement an action plan if there are any suspected cases of the coronavirus on campus or in the local community. We also have a plan in place if any cases of the coronavirus on campus or in the local community are confirmed. We will share the details of the plans if either of these situations arises.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), you can help stop the coronavirus by knowing the signs and symptoms:

• Fever
• Cough
• Shortness of breath

The CDC also advises that you seek medical advice if you have traveled to China in the past 14 days and feel sick. Call ahead before you go to a doctor’s office or emergency room. Tell them about your recent travel and your symptoms.

The CDC recommends keeping yourself and others healthy by:

• Washing your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after going to the bathroom; before eating; and after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing
• Avoiding touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands
• Staying home when you are sick
• Covering your cough or sneezing with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash

College officials continue to monitor this public health concern. We will update you regarding the coronavirus as we receive new information.

If you want to learn more about the political, economic and public health impact of the novel coronavirus outbreak, please watch this video of a recent panel discussion held on campus.

Thank you,
PC Leadership Team