The following message from College of Charleston Provost Brian McGee was sent to the campus community on Wednesday, Sept. 13:

Dear students, faculty, and staff:

After several days of evacuation, severe weather, and recovery efforts, I am pleased to welcome students, faculty, and staff back to the College of Charleston.
As a result of our recent loss of class days, the College of Charleston now has a revised academic calendar for the 2017 Fall Semester. The revised academic calendar is posted at http://registrar.cofc.edu/pdf/ac-2017fall.pdf

The development of the revised calendar and the updated schedule included consultations with deans, department chairs, program directors, and elected student leadership.

Please carefully review this new schedule. You will see that some dates have not changed. The Thanksgiving holidays will be held as originally scheduled. Reading Day, the final examination period and the date for December commencement have not changed. There are no changes to the schedule for Express II courses.

However, there are several important changes you should note:

  • The Attendance Verification date for faculty has been extended to September 15.
  • A makeup day has been scheduled for Saturday, October 7. October 7 will be treated as a regular Friday for purposes of class meetings.
  • A makeup day has been scheduled for Sunday, October 15. October 15 will be treated as a regular Wednesday for purposes of class meetings.
  • Previously, Fall Break was scheduled for October 16-17. The Fall Break has been eliminated, and courses will be held on a normal schedule for those days.
  • Additional storm days have been designated for November 4-5, given the possibility of additional inclement weather during the current semester. Courses will be held on those dates only if needed in the event of future course cancellations.

Students enrolled in Express I courses should review the revised calendar. Beginning tomorrow, students in the Charleston Bridge Program will find a revised Fall 2017 academic calendar on the Charleston Bridge Program channel in MyCharleston.

Regrettably, the revised calendar will pose challenges for some students, staff, and faculty in respecting religious obligations and managing work schedules. The College is committed to using both Saturdays and Sundays for makeup days, as we know that religious observances occur on both weekend dates for the members of our community. We understand as well that the elimination of the Fall Break will interfere with some travel and family plans.

While waiting for this revised calendar to be published, some people have asked if the College is required to make up for lost class time. The short answer to the question is federal and other regulations necessitate that we have a makeup plan. Other people have inquired about the options for holding additional weekend classes or for modifying the end-of-semester schedule. All members of our community can be assured that every option we could imagine was carefully considered. It may be helpful to know that we are reluctant to make modifications to the end-of-semester schedule at the present time, as we need to preserve those options in the event of another bout of severe weather.

I thank all members of our community for their flexibility as we adjust to the new realities imposed by Hurricane and Tropical Storm Irma. We look forward to seeing you back on campus and in our residence halls, offices, and classes. Thankfully, we have returned to a city spared the most dangerous effects of this storm. I know we all hope for the speedy recovery of those communities that experienced the most severe weather.

Sincerely,

Brian McGee, Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs