As a result of weather-related closings during snow storms in January and February, the College of Southern Maryland has revised its spring semester, including a one-week extension to the semester.
The last day of classes will be Wednesday, May 12. Additionally, CSM’s graduation events have been rescheduled, with honors convocation on May 19, and the nurses’ recognition and spring commencement on May 20. The monthly meeting for the board of trustees is rescheduled to May 20 as well to coincide with graduation. Also affected is the start for Minisession II, which will begin March 25.
Students and faculty members were encouraged to stay connected during the weather closures, and while the extension will allow most classes to restore instructional time, Vice President of Academic Affairs Debra Tervala said some instructors may need to adopt additional strategies to enable students to achieve the course learning outcomes and to meet required contact hours for the course. Instructors will work with students on a class-by-class basis to make adjustments as needed.
“The college appreciates the amazing job our faculty members did during the snow closures to make sure no students were left in the lurch,” Tervala said. For instance, even though the winter storms forced CSM to close its campuses the weekend of Jan. 30 and Feb. 5-11, instructors who utilized new online resources were able to take their traditional in-class settings virtual.
As part of the college’s continuity planning and preparedness efforts during the 2009 fall semester, faculty members had Web-enhanced their face-to-face courses with the assistance from staff in CSM’s Division of Distance Learning and Faculty Development. This would enable them to have an online presence available in the event of an extended college closure, according to Assistant Vice President of Academic Affairs Sue Subocz.
“The online course shells were populated with the course syllabus and faculty were trained in how to load lecture materials, conduct course discussions and post announcements to advise students about how to proceed if their classes were cancelled,” Subocz said. “Many faculty members activated these courses during the snow break.”
“Because of the timing, the weather closures occurred during a test week for many courses, so the affected faculty created tests that could be conducted online, again assisted by staff from our Division of Distance Learning and Faculty Development,” she said. “For example, our physics professor, Dick Beers, was able to post a physics exam online and Sharon Smith-Douglas was able to put her biology materials online, allowing these classes to proceed without skipping a beat.”
For specific date changes to the spring academic calendar, students can visit ww.csmd.edu/Academics/Spring2010.html. CSM’s revised dates to the semester will not affect spring break which will begin March 15 for students. Offices will close at 4:30 pm. March 16 for staff, with the college resuming classes on March 22.