Page 52 - Innovation Delaware 2021

DAN YOUNG
Delaware State University had significant digital programming experi- ence in place, so the pivot was not totally alien. “We were three years into a digital learning initiative in partnership with Apple which had already provided 85–90% of our students with tablets or laptops,” Newton says, “and our full- time faculty — plus about 70% of our adjuncts — had a basic grounding in the Blackboard content management system, various conferencing apps and the fundamentals of digital instruction.”
50 DelawareBusinessTimes.com
Keeping Students Safe and Studying
Concerns about student — and faculty — well-being went beyond the instructional capabilities in what was now the virtual classroom. “We instituted a Virtual Student Support System where students could access all college activities without coming on campus — registration, financial aid, writing labs — all in a matter of a week,” says Brainard. As most DTCC students are local, the college “established Wifi spots around our four campuses that
students could easily access and also started a laptop lending service, much like a library with books.”
Newton also points out that Delaware State had “about 200–250 students with literally no place to go. We had to figure out how to safely provide them with support services and how to quarantine those who became infected.” The university also established a $1.6 million student relief fund and dispersed $4.5 million in direct assistance from federal CARES Act funding.
Perhaps the most (Continued on page 52)
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