July 10, 2020
Dear Jarvis Christian College Family:
I know this pandemic has taken a toll upon all of us. With your safety and health in mind, we have decided to continue with the online educational platform for fall 2020. Please know that we have assessed the situation thoroughly. We have met with various campus employees and healthcare officials. We have taken measures to ensure the safety and welfare of faculty, staff, students and visitors, including instituting mask-wearing, hand-washing and social distancing protocols. Additionally, we have purchased thermometers and tool kits. Tool kits consisting of masks, hand sanitizers and cleaning products were packaged and provided to persons on campus. However, with the fluidity of the virus, we had no choice but to remain online. This was a hard choice to make, but it was one made in the best interest of the Jarvis Christian College family.
There are currently over 3 million cases of the virus in the U. S. and more than 130,000 deaths. As of yesterday, Texas, alone, had 220,564 cases and 2,813 deaths. The count changes daily. Today, it was reported that a person dies every 15 minutes from the virus.
To limit exposure to the virus, we will continue our online classes for fall 2020, with the semester running from August 10, 2020 through November 20, 2020. In addition to the compressed schedule, we have enhanced the virtual learning environment to ensure that students have the best learning experience possible by purchasing laptops with access to Internet services, providing virtual tutorials and academic counseling and increasing the bandwidth to accommodate the online platform. We want our students to know that through the online learning environment, “Wherever you are, we are!”
As we are staying online, we will not participate in any sports for the fall 2020 semester; however, we will honor athletic and performance scholarships. To further ease students’ financial stress, we also have developed a balance forgiveness program. Please contact Ms. Paula Love, Vice President for Finance and Administration, at 903-730-4890, ext. 2701 for additional details.
Keeping the JCC family out of harm’s way and providing our students with access to an affordable and optimal learning experience are our primary goals. Please stay safe and healthy!
Best Regards,
Lester C. Newman
President
