• April 7, 2020


  • Colleagues,

    I want to thank you for your continued adaptability as we enter spring term. Oregon’s early adoption of social distancing appears to be working to flatten the curve, and you are commended for your contributions to stay home, stay healthy. These efforts save lives.

    Last month, Governor Brown ordered institutions of higher education to move classes online through April 28th.  There has been a tremendous amount of work completed in the last two weeks to prepare for the return of students on this week. We also recognize the uncertainty over what happens April 29th is unsettling and makes it difficult to plan.

    To create some stability for you and your students, we have decided to extend all existing remote and online courses through the end of spring term. This means students starting remote or online this week will remain remote or online through all of spring term. At this point, we are not planning for any late start, in-person classes for spring quarter. We will continue to follow the Governor’s Executive Order and existing exemptions remain in place.

    Additionally, in the same interest of reducing uncertainty, and with input from faculty, staff and students, we have made the tough call to postpone commencement until a future yet-to-be-determined date, which will be decided based on how this situation unfolds. We know that commencement is something that our graduates and faculty were looking forward to and planning toward, and while disappointed this cannot proceed as planned, we are committed to making sure our students’ accomplishments are honored appropriately at a future date.

    Continuing to practice social distancing, we will carry on working remotely and keeping the campus closed to the public. When the Governor lifts the order, we will return to our offices and reopen our doors to the public; a date that remains to be determined.

    To give you time to make adjustments, we will begin notifying students 4 p.m. on Tuesday, April 7, 2020.
    Thank you for your continued flexibility.
    Stay safe,

    Lisa Skari, EdD
    President
    Pronouns: she/her/hers
    Mt. Hood Community College