College students are again on campus at Johnson C. Smith College in Charlotte, however not as many as, say, two years in the past. College officers say enrollment is down from a excessive of 1,500 college students in 2019 to 1,200 college students this semester. In speaking about new applications and efforts to make Smith extra seen, President Clarence Armbrister says he blames a lot of the enrollment drop on the COVID-19 pandemic.
Courtesy JCSU
Clarence Armbrister: COVID-19 has had a really, very important influence on Johnson C. Smith, largely as a result of we, not like many different campuses across the nation, we have been closed all 12 months. We introduced college students again two weeks in the past. It was the primary time in over 500 days that we had college students taking common lessons on the campus.
Gwendolyn Glenn: Are college students additionally on campus and digital, as properly? Or are all lessons in individual?
Armbrister: We have created two cohorts right here on the campus. As , our colours are gold and blue, so now we have a Gold Cohort and now we have a Blue Cohort. Every cohort will attend in-person lessons for per week whereas the opposite synchronistically — which means concurrently a category is occurring — will take the category on-line. After which they swap up each week.
The lecture rooms aren’t densely populated. We have now little markers on every of the seats the place you can’t sit and masks are required in all indoor services on campus and particularly within the school rooms.
So now we have plexiglass limitations between the instructors and the scholars and instructors additionally put on masks. We have now hand sanitizers within the school rooms so that individuals can guarantee that they’re sustaining their very own private well being. We have now guides a method, , stairs up and down, issues like that. Actually making an attempt to keep up the social distancing and making an attempt to guarantee that we do all the things we are able to to keep up the protected surroundings for everyone on the campus.
Glenn: Now, some faculties are requiring vaccinations. Are you requiring vaccinations of scholars and school?
Armbrister: We did, as properly. We required obligatory vaccinations of all of our college students, school and employees, with two exceptions: for those who had a physician, bodily exemption and or non secular exemption.
Glenn: And proper now, are you aware what proportion are?
Armbrister: For the school, the huge, overwhelming majority, I’d say in all probability over 90%. The numbers are rather less with our college students. (There are) many extra college students who utilized for exemptions.
Glenn: Effectively, let me ask you this: How a lot federal COVID-19 funds has the college acquired and the way are they getting used?
Armbrister: The college in complete has in all probability acquired over about $30 million in support. And it is essential that now we have that cash as a result of enrollments are down. Along with which, we needed to expend some huge cash with a view to turn out to be, , to supply a protected surroundings. However considerably, numerous that cash will go to the misplaced income. , after we closed down on March, I feel it was March 23, 2020, we had an obligation to refund sure parts of scholars’ room and board. So these have been among the makes use of to which the cash went, as properly.
Glenn: Effectively, one other factor that I perceive that Johnson, C. Smith and plenty of different HBCU have achieved with that federal funding is to forgive loans. Inform me about that.
Armbrister: We have equally achieved that. However much more so, as we have been going into the autumn of 2020, we gave each returning pupil funds to scale back the expense of their schooling. And these have been funds along with the cash that they received immediately from the federal authorities. What we additionally did is that for each returning pupil, we gave them $2,500 — $1,250 every semester. And for brand new college students, we gave them $1,000. And that totaled practically $three million that we gave out final 12 months.
However we did alleviated balances for college kids to permit them to register and clear this 12 months. And people totals have been about $300,000-$400,000. Most of these have been loans that have been forgiven, that have been made by the college. So, , they weren’t essentially forgiving federal loans. And that is one thing to be clear.
Glenn: OK. Effectively, let me ask you this: Any new diploma applications the college is providing or any plans to convey again your schooling instructor coaching program, diploma program?
Armbrister: So we doubled down in three areas. These areas are enterprise finance — , we sit within the second-largest monetary middle within the nation. And simply so occurs that our largest main at Johnson C. Smith is our enterprise program. It was really helpful that we made some important investments in that program, and we plan to do this.
And our second-largest main is within the life sciences and biology. And we’re going to double down in that program. As properly. The third space, we doubled down in is information analytics. We expect that that is a distinct segment as a part of our STEM and/or enterprise applications that we expect we are able to develop into.
The final a part of your query, you requested if we have been fascinated by bringing again the schooling college. At this level, that isn’t at the moment on the radar. , we do take part in a number of applications across the area the place we assist and help academics put together themselves for school and work with among the different native universities which have education schemes.
Glenn: And eventually, I would similar to to ask you, do you intend to have the college extra concerned in, say, as an illustration, the social consciousness motion in points resembling voting rights and the Black Lives Matter motion? Do you see a job for Johnson C. Smith in these areas?
Armbrister: Completely. And though it might not have been prominently lined, we have been concerned in every of these areas. We proceed to be concerned within the West Charlotte neighborhood right here. And we’re additionally within the strategy of — thought we have not introduced it but — now we have been engaged on a Race and Social Justice Heart.
Shortly after the demise of George Floyd, we supplied this chance and we have been pleasantly shocked on the huge variety of school and employees who we’re all in favour of doing that. And we’ll be making an announcement shortly concerning the creation of our Race and Social Justice Heart. So we are able to and we wish to be, as Johnson C. Smith has all the time been, concerned in these points as a result of that is why we’re right here.
Biddle Corridor, by which I sit, sits at one of many highest factors in Charlotte. One of many issues that we have achieved just lately is that now we have reestablished the bell clock towers and that tower is now lit and might be seen from anyplace in Charlotte, notably from uptown. It flashes our colours proper now, gold and blue. And we wish to guarantee that individuals acknowledge that Johnson C. Smith is right here. However extra importantly, it is incumbent upon us, although, to guarantee that we proceed to provide graduates who can exhibit competence and excellence of their chosen subject.
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