By Jena Emmert
Several campus resources will operate online as Edgewood College has limited campus access and suspended face-to-face learning for the rest of Spring 2020.
Interim President Sister Mary Ellen Gevelinger announced on Thursday that courses will be fully online for the remainder of the Spring 2020 semester. This announcement comes after COVID-19 is declared a pandemic; cases in Wisconsin surpass 250 and four deaths are reported.
According to an email sent to all students from Vice President for Student Development Heather Harbach, the following resources will continue in operation: The Center for Student Success, the Office of Student Inclusion and Involvement (OSII), Disability and Accessibility Services, Personal Counseling Services in the Wellness Center, the Math Lab, the Writing Center, peer tutoring, the Oscar Rennebohm Library, the Technology Assistance Center (TAC), the Mail Center, Edgewood Central, the Business Office, Academic Success, Career Development, Dean of Students Office, Military and Veterans Services, Residence Life and Campus Security.
Staff members are working quickly to move their resources online so students can access them as classes resume the week of March 23.
Career Development, The Center for Student Success, Edgewood Central, Personal Counseling, Peer Tutoring/The Math Lab/Course Coaching/The Writing Center, The Library, The Mail Center/Bookstore, OSII, TAC and the Theatre Department give their updates:
Career Development
Appointments are available digitally. Career Development encourages students to use Handshake to schedule WebEx meetings or to have a resume, cover letter or LinkedIn profile reviewed by an advisor. For any questions, contact sarahanson@edgewood.edu or rkasten@edgewood.edu.
Center for Student Success
The Center for Student Success will use video and telephone calls for the remainder of the semester. Advisors will be in touch with students in the coming weeks.
Edgewood Central
Edgewood Central will have staff available to help online or via phone from 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Students are advised to refer to Edgewood Express for any billing information.
Personal Counseling
Personal Counseling Services will continue with online and phone services. They will offer phone consultations for “immediate needs,” especially surrounding current stressful events, said Megan Cobb-Sheehan, director of personal counseling services.
“We can also have conversations with students by phone about accessing ongoing mental health and crisis resources wherever they’re currently located,” she said.
Details of how to schedule a phone consultation can be found at their website: https://counseling.edgewood.edu/.
Personal Counseling Services are also working on online programming and developing resources for managing anxiety, dealing with new family dynamics, and beginning meditation and mindfulness in a remote environment.
Details will soon be available on their website, the college calendar, and the new Wellness Center Instagram page: @EdgewoodCollegeWellnessCenter. Their website will also soon have updated referral information, crisis resources and online tools.
Peer Tutoring/Math Lab/Course Coaching/Writing Center
The Math Lab, Peer Tutors, Course Coaches and The Writing Center are all going online for the spring semester.
Doug Wandersee, academic success coordinator, said, “We’re still putting together the pieces, but there will be individual tutoring, drop-in tutoring times and group sessions.”
Updated information will be shared through professors, BlackBoard, email and other online outlets.
“We know how many of you rely on some form of tutoring to support your learning in the classroom, and we are fully committed to continuing all of these services virtually,” said Wandersee.
The Writing Center will be online starting March 25.
Writing Center Director Deb Kruse-Field said that writing tutors will read students’ papers and provide feedback within 48 hours. “Depending on staffing, we may be able to respond sooner,” she added.
More information will be delivered via email to students and professors. To submit papers, go to the Writing Center website: https://writing-center.edgewood.edu/.
Oscar Rennebohm Library
The campus library building is closed for the remainder of the semester. Library staff hopes to continue to support students with resources, said Library Director Nathan Dowd, via their website: https://oscar.edgewood.edu.
“As this is a rapidly changing situation, we continue to evaluate options on an ongoing basis,” Dowd said.
Mail Center/Bookstore
The Mail Center will have limited hours beginning March 25 from 11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays to process mail for students.
In a March 24 email to staff and faculty, Vicki Clark, manager of the Mail Center and Bookstore, asked members “to please refrain from having personal items shipped to the college mail center.”
Any packages will be held for resident students. They will also take requests to forward mail to alternative addresses, unless through UPS. This may change if a state shutdown is mandated.
The Bookstore will be closed. Orders can still be shipped online via https://bookstore.edgewood.edu/.
Office of Student Inclusion and Involvement
OSII’s resources, events and activities continue online. Most events have been moved to digital viewing parties, online activities or social media contests.
A weekly event called Hot Drinks and Hot Topics will allow for weekly discussions with students and OSII staff.
According to an email from Harbach, OSII has the following events planned: trivia nights, movie parties, jeopardy, photo challenges, online scavenger hunts, Social Justice Book Club, Senior Series, and will continue events around Women’s History Month and Asian American Pacific Islander Month.
Shaunda Brown-Rivera, director of student inclusion and involvement, said in an OSII YouTube video, “We’ll continue to do all our programming, student orgs, leadership development and everything else we usually do online.”
OSII staff members will also have WebEx office hours.
Technology Assistance Center
TAC will have remote tools on their website to continue to help students. To make a request, refer to services.edgewood.edu (ticket portal), 608-663-6900 (phone) or technology-assistance@edgewood.edu (email).
Theatre Department
The Theatre Department is in the process of determining how to carry out shows. Jeanne Leep, chair of Theatre Arts, said they are working through many logistics to see if their upcoming production, Triumph of Love, could be rescheduled for the summer.
“We are hopeful that we will not need to cancel the show entirely, though we fully recognize that is a possibility for these unprecedented times,” said Leep.
Military and Veterans Services
The Office of Military and Veterans Services is utilizing digital and social media platforms to stay in touch with members of the Edgewood community.
“This will allow us to stay connected to students who may need immediate assistance, who have questions or concerns, or who may simply need a familiar face or voice to help break the silence we all may currently face,” said Matthew Schroeder, director of military and veterans services.
Schroeder said these online options will be available through the spring and summer semesters and will be used if ever necessary in the future.
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