Champlain College in Burlington, Vermont, announced that it will extend its online and on-campus offerings to undergraduate students who cannot attend college this semester due to the destruction of Hurricane Katrina.
Recognizing that the College is located many miles from the areas that were hardest hit, Champlain officials chose to offer its comprehensive online program to adult students in addition to an on-campus option for traditional-aged students. Champlain College will collect no tuition; instead, the College will accept students who have already paid their tuition to their home college, which will desperately need the funds.
In both cases, students will be accepted on a space-available basis. Adult learners interested in online courses must act by Friday, September 9, as classes have already started. For any student who chooses to live on the Vermont campus, the College will only collect fees for room and board.
Its just the right thing to do, said President David F. Finney. Our campus community wanted to take action and we have high quality programs to offer on campus and online. Whether a student wants to attend class in Vermont or wants to study from another location in the country, we can make a difference.
A private, career-oriented college, Champlain is recognized for its strong academic programs in the fields of business, technology and public service. Nine of its 29 undergraduate programs are offered completely online.
The entire campus has been moved by the news of the disaster and students, faculty and staff are coordinating a fundraiser for the victims of the hurricane. With the coordination of the Colleges Center for Service and Civic Engagement (CSCE), students are stationed at tables on campus asking members of the college community to sacrifice at least the cost of one cup of coffee - $1.50 - to send to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund. Volunteers are signing up for fundraising shifts throughout next week and three anonymous, on-campus philanthropists have offered $2,000 in matching funds.
The students have really mobilized around this cause, said Nancy Cathcart, CSCE director. We just welcomed freshmen to campus last week and now 40 of them have joined their fellow students to take action. Its amazing.
In addition, Sodexho food services did an on-campus collection of non-perishables on Friday to deliver to the National Guard.
Students interested in Champlain Colleges on-campus offerings should contact the Admissions office at (800) 570-5858. Adult students interested in the online courses offered through Champlains Center for Online & Continuing Education should call toll-free (888) 545-3459 or visit http://champlain.edu/coce to see the selection of courses for "Fall 2005 15-week online classes." Those interested in online courses must act by Friday, September 9, as classes have already started.
www.champlain.edu
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