Faith Baptist Bible College Announces Revised Fall Schedule

June 11, 2020

Thursday, June 11, 2020

Faith Baptist Bible College has announced changes to its fall academic calendar in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. You can view Dr. Tillotson’s full video announcement here.

The start date for the 2020-21 school year has not changed. The first day of fall classes will begin on campus (as originally scheduled) on Monday, August 24, 2020. Commencement for the Class of 2020 will also continue as scheduled on Saturday, August 22.

We will, however, finish on-campus instruction just before Thanksgiving, with our students taking online finals the following week at their homes.

Normally, we would have two weeks of on-campus learning after Thanksgiving (one week of classes and one week of finals) before students went home again for Christmas Break. With the possibility of a second wave of COVID-19, we believe it is wise not to bring students back to campus from all across the country for only two weeks. These changes apply to the college only. The seminary academic schedule will remain unchanged.

Academics

To meet the requirements for academic instruction and give our students the best academic experience possible, changes to the fall calendar are necessary. Here are the key details:

• Classes will be held on Labor Day.
• The Missions Conference will end one day early so that normal classes can be held on Friday, October 30.
• Classes will be held on Wednesday, November 25, which is the day before Thanksgiving.
• Each class will have one recorded session that every student will be required to watch before Thanksgiving.
• Finals will be online the week after Thanksgiving
• Spring semester will begin, as regularly scheduled, on-campus, Monday, January 11, 2021.

We are aware that many colleges and universities will be requiring the use of masks in classrooms this fall. We are hoping to avoid this requirement, but that decision has not been finalized yet.

Athletics and Events

Faith has a COVID-19 Task Force that will continue to meet throughout the summer to work through additional details regarding the fall semester. Details regarding athletics events and fan participation at events will be discussed and finalized in the weeks ahead.

Another item assigned to our task force is the annual Festival of Carols, which historically brings thousands of people to campus in early December. The dates of these concerts will now take place before Thanksgiving but have not been finalized. Stay tuned to Faith.edu for future announcements regarding this popular event.

Safety

The health and safety of our students, staff, and faculty is our top priority. Beginning July 1, 2020, the east entrance to Domokos Hall will serve as the primary point of entry for all guests and also as our new Welcome Center. All visitors will be required to complete a health screening process and be issued a lanyard with a badge that must be worn while visiting. This is not required for visits to the bookstore or library and is not required for public events.

Additionally, all students will be required to complete a health questionnaire and screening process when they arrive on campus this fall. Classrooms at Faith have been reviewed to ensure social distancing requirements are met for each class, and Dining Hall procedures will be implemented as required.

Finally, for new and returning students, we will be launching two new web pages very soon, which will detail the entire Student Orientation experience and will include necessary forms and paperwork. These should help streamline the registration process and answer most questions students and parents may have. Look for those announcements and more as the summer progresses at Faith.edu. and on our Faith Baptist Bible College Facebook page.