Join us this fall as we unite to create the world we want to live in
July 24, 2020
Dear FIDM Community,
Together, FIDM Faculty, Staff, and Students are responding to the unique challenges of COVID-19 with hope, kindness, and a determination to move forward when it matters most. Our students’ commitment to each other and to their educational goals has been an inspiration to us all as we develop a path forward.
The FIDM Community has risen to the occasion and been rewarded with some unexpected benefits of remote instruction: creative problem solving, increased class participation, and more planning that has led to better outcomes. The response from students has been overwhelmingly positive, and many students feel more connected with their classmates and instructors than ever.
Our small class sizes and uniquely specialized instruction have been key in our ability to transition to a fully online/remote curriculum, but it is truly our students, with their support of each other and their willingness to be flexible, who made this challenging experience such an opportunity for growth and empowerment.
Our Fall 2020 Remote Education Task Force is pushing boundaries and changing the way people think about hybrid, online, and remote learning, all while prioritizing the health and safety of everyone in our community.
Here’s how we’re approaching Fall 2020 with the goal of providing the best possible learning environment, opportunities, and outcomes for our students:
- We are hoping to open our on-campus resources, from our Library to our Labs, by appointment, with all appropriate safety measures and subject to health advisories and regulations.
- We have carefully adapted every single course in our curriculum to ensure that it’s intensive, rigorous, and rich, whether it’s in an online, remote, or hybrid environment.
- We’re focusing on the kind of active learning that is achieved only with a high ratio of faculty to students, and providing increased opportunities for one-on-one interaction and feedback.
- Individualized study is key. Instructors will be working closely with each student to support them throughout the course and ensure their best possible outcome.
- We are listening to students as they provide feedback on what’s working and what isn’t, and evolving and adapting in response.
- We’re planning, subject to health guidelines, to incorporate hybrid courses that will allow students some in-person class time.
- Our Career Center staff has been working closely with our industry partners to ensure continued access to key networking and employment opportunities.
We are reimagining every aspect of the FIDM experience in collaboration and alignment with public health authorities. Our plans and protocols seek to keep you safe as we teach, learn, study, work, and thrive together.
Our industries are built on creativity, problem-solving, and flexibility and so is our teaching methodology. Our faculty, staff, and students have always had what it takes to overcome any obstacles placed in their path.
In the words of our college President, Toni Hohberg, “Together, let’s help create the world we want to live in.” There’s no better time than now.
Sincerely and with best wishes,
The FIDM Board of Administration
