With the government shutdown, some people are concerned about the impact this could have on the College of Charleston community.
So will the shutdown cause major problems for the College?
The short answer is no.
The shutdown of the federal government should not have any immediate impacts on the College of Charleston.
Student loans and Pell Grants aren’t affected by the shutdown. Federal dollars will continue to flow to higher education. A longer shutdown, though, could lead to a big paperwork backlog and problems for students that receive federal funds.
All students will also continue to receive mail service on campus because all post offices will remain open.
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According to Michael Auerbach, Dean of the School of Sciences and Mathematics, the shutdown will not affect any of the National Science Foundation grants that have already been awarded to professors at the College. However he says a long term shutdown could have an impact on future NSF grants.
The shutdown will have an immediate impact on three science professors who teach at the College’s Grice Marine Laboratory at Fort Johnson. The three will be locked out of their laboratory facilities because their space is located in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) offices on James Island. NOAA is a federal agency and will be closed during a government shutdown.
The three professors will still be able to teach students because their classrooms are located in the Grice Marine Lab and not the NOAA facility.
