• April 28, 2020

    Dear BCCC Students:

    As we are in the midst of our sixth week of online instruction, let me express my sincere appreciation for your continued commitment to your studies at Baltimore City Community College. I recognize there is a lot of unease with all the changes that have been made due to COVID-19. These changes are impacting every facet of your life including your BCCC education. But in the face of all this, you have risen to the challenge.

    With the end of the semester rapidly approaching, I wanted to provide the following updates:

    Commencement 2020

    Previously I communicated that the disappointing decision was made to postpone our May 2020 Commencement ceremony. We are exploring many options for how best to celebrate our graduates and I am happy to share that in August we will hold a virtual Commencement. More information will be shared about the date in August and the specifics for Commencement.

    Nursing Clinicals

    As many of you are aware, there have been several communications about simulations and whether such can be used to count toward the face to face, off site clinical hours. Dean Olden has been in communication with the Maryland Board of Nursing. Based on those communications we now know that the simulations being used currently in your courses will count towards your face to face clinical hours. Students should contact the Dean of Health Sciences, Scott Olden, solden@bccc.edu or Dr. Liesl Jones, Vice President for Academic Affairs, ljones@bccc.edu if you have any additional questions.

    Withdrawal Date

    The BCCC Spring semester published withdrawal dates from courses have been extended. With the shift to online instruction we want to ensure that you can make the best decision about the completion of your courses. To that end, the last date for students to withdraw from any course(s) during the Spring semester 2020 has been extended to May 9th. While the date has been extended, we encourage you to continue with your courses and reach out for tutoring, advising, or meeting with the faculty if you need additional help.

    Proctored Exams

    A number of different programs and courses require that the exams be proctored, including final exams. The College has secured the software that allows exams in certain programs to be proctored. Faculty have been trained to use the software and will guide students through downloading the applications in order for students to be prepared to take their exams.

    Registration

    On April 20, summer registration opened; you can log onto the student portal to use the credit “course look up” function to register for summer courses. Summer session 1 starts June 1 and the 5-week accelerated session will be online for lecture and we are hopeful that the labs and clinicals will be face to face. The 8-week session, which also begins June 1, will follow a hybrid format with the first 4 weeks online and the second 4 weeks face to face. Beginning July 7, the second summer session opens. The 5-week accelerated Summer 2 will run both face to face and online. Fall registration will also open soon and an announcement will be placed in the Canvas Student Lounge notifying you that it has opened. You will also use the credit “course look up” function to register for fall.

    Update from the Governor

    On Friday, April 24, The Governor’s Coronavirus Response Team shared its Roadmap to Recovery that outlines the milestones that need to be met and how the State will gradually reopen. We will continue to follow the guidance provided by the State and our health professionals for when it is safe to return to campus. We are all anxious to return to the classroom environment and offices. For more information on the Roadmap, please visit: https://governor.maryland.gov/recovery/

    I will continue to share updates with you on a weekly basis or more frequently, if needed. Be sure to visit the following sites for the latest information from:

    Please stay connected through #BCCCstrong. Send your online learning selfies to bcccstrong@bccc.edu and follow us on Instagram and Twitter at my_bccc and on Facebook at mybccc. We will get through this! Stay BCCC Strong and Safe.

    Debra L. McCurdy, PhD
    President