For all students and faculty at Milligan University, the Fall semester of 2020 will always be remembered as different and special. Adjusting collegiate careers to a global pandemic has been everything but easy and has required strong efforts of everyone within Milligan’s community.
With the end of an unconventional semester, it is time to look back and evaluate the guidelines and policies developed to maintain the safety of Milligan’s community when welcoming everyone back to campus.
On May 18, several planning teams including students, faculty- and staff members were established to start the process of preparing a plan for what the new ‘normal’ would look like when welcoming the community back in the fall. However, planning for months ahead during a rapidly changing pandemic was, according to Garland Young, the vice president for academics & Dean, a “shot in the dark”.
“We had to have a plan created for every possible scenario,” said Young. “Questions such as ‘How bad should we plan it to be?’ and ‘Will the pandemic be over, or will it be worse?’ made it difficult for us to determine how to develop the best possible guidelines to reach our goals.”
The overall goal for this semester, according to an announcement made by President Bill Greer in April, was “to have an on-campus fall semester that provides Milligan’s distinctive educational experience while ensuring everyone’s health and safety.”
“We felt confident going into the semester that we had a good plan in place and that the Milligan community would come together and do the things we needed to do to give us the best chance to complete the semester successfully and in person, but had to acknowledge then and now that there may be circumstances beyond our control that disrupt that process,” said Brent Nipper, director of property & risk management.
Many adjustments were made, with everything from online options and classes taught outside, to daily Ascend screening and a limited amount of open dorm hours. To protect the mental health of the students, extra appointments were provided by the Counseling Center and a mental health day was established during the semester to give the students a well-deserved break since Fall Break had to be canceled.
According to Dr. Rebecca Sapp, director of the Counseling Center, a somewhat heavier load of counseling appointments was experienced at the beginning of the semester which might be seen as a result of the uncertain and unpredictable present and future which students were adapting to.
Athletic teams have been heavily affected by new regulations and strict policies and guidelines. Games, matches and tournaments have been postponed or canceled and events have been structured differently. Gabrielle Mardis, a junior on the cross country team, was selected as the student representative for Milligan’s athletes, which she said she enjoyed because the committee valued her input and influence a lot while making decisions regarding her and her teammates’ athletic experience.
“Our goal isn’t to eradicate COVID, it is to do the things we love while staying healthy and I think we’ve accomplished this, ” Mardis said. “In my opinion, the fall semester in athletic terms has gone very smoothly.”
When evaluating the semester, Nipper and Young both agree with Mardis. Because of the hard work and commitment from faculty, staff and students, they believe the semester to have been good and successful. Even though no specific numbers were determined regarding levels of cases in the community, Young said that Milligan has had a fairly low amount of cases and kept the exposure under good control.
“I think overall we have had a good semester,” said Nipper. “We understood going into the semester we would likely have positive cases and need to isolate and quarantine members of the campus community as necessary and that has proven to be true, but our goal was and is to have a meaningful on-campus experience for students while working as hard as we can to maintain good health and safety and I think we have done that pretty well.”
According to Nipper and Young, the reason why Milligan has been so successful in keeping the community safe, without any major disruptions, is because of the hard work and commitment to the guidelines and policies established by the Response team.
“Everyone has cooperated with the plan,” said Young. “Students have realized the gravity of the situation and stepped up to commit themselves to maintain the health of themselves and others. We have also had a very flexible staff and faculty who have, without a doubt, adjusted their work to fit all challenges.“
“While many folks on campus have put in a lot of time and effort, the Milligan Health Services Office specifically has done great work and played a large part in our ability to respond and continue the semester as planned,” Nipper said. “COVID has been a tremendous challenge for us all and Milligan has responded well.”
Headline photo: Milligan Returns Home. Courtesy: Milligan University