Adler University has decided to provide virtual instruction on its ground campuses in Chicago and Vancouver through the Fall 2020 term due to COVID-19 precautions.
The University made the decision to continue virtual instruction to give students and instructors time to prepare for the fall term and because classrooms are too small to accommodate full class rosters while practicing social distancing.
The University engaged in broad stakeholder feedback to inform the decision. This included input from current students, faculty, staff, prospective students, authorizing and licensure bodies, peer institutions, and public health officials in both British Columbia and the city of Chicago.
“From all segments of our Chicago and Vancouver campus communities we heard loud and clear that, while students who selected in-person degree programs feel that remote learning, teaching, and working is not ideal, we all prefer it to ensure our continued health and safety,” said Adler University President Raymond E. Crossman, Ph.D., “Given the World Health Organization’s guidance to prepare for additional waves of COVID-19, we feel our decision is prudent and allows us the flexibility necessary to adapt as the situation changes over time.”
Pending public health guidance and campus-specific conditions, limited access to the physical campuses will be considered for students who need quiet or private places to study and complete virtual learning.
In his messages to students, faculty, and staff, Crossman acknowledged that this decision comes at a time during which other issues—specifically, systemic racism and continued violence against Black people in the United States—are pressing. “We will continue to engage, as a community, in taking action and having difficult conversations on this topic,” Crossman said. “During this crisis, we must also continue to respond to the public health situation currently unfolding—one that has an outsized effect on the Black and Brown members of our community.”