Endicott Seeing the Benefits of Pandemic Crisis Planning
Endicott College’s post-pandemic outlook is bright, and administration is highlighting the proactive measures taken to preserve the College’s academic integrity, operating procedures, and financial stability during the COVID-19 crisis as the primary reason for this success.
Endicott is emerging from the height of the pandemic with few cases of COVID-19 on campus, virtually no significant impact on current enrollment, and positive enrollment projections for Fall 2021. Endicott’s endowment principal has remained intact and has grown during fiscal year 2021, which runs from July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021. Unlike many institutions, Endicott did not tap the endowment principal to pay for added operating costs during the crisis.
The College was also able to reopen fully with in-person instruction and residential life for the 2020 Fall semester.
Even more surprising has been Endicott’s ability to continue its study abroad program, safely sending 71 students to five countries in Europe during the current school year.
Finally, even throughout the pandemic, Endicott was able to ensure that all faculty and staff continued to be paid and to receive benefits without interruption.
“We’ve been successful with crisis planning,” said Steven R. DiSalvo, Ph.D., President. “It is key for those leading all large institutions, and especially those in higher education, to have plans in place for financial and other crises. With the help of our Board of Trustees, we were able to weather the storm from a fiscal point of view while also managing to keep everyone on campus as safe as we possibly could.”
Specifically, the College is pleased to report the following.
- Out of more than 20,000 COVID-19 tests conducted on campus, only 84 were positive for the Spring 2021 semester to-date
- 766 first-year enrollments for Fall 2020
- 70% of current classes fully seated, and in person; only 71 of more than 1,000 classes are being taught in a fully remote format, mostly due to space/distancing requirements
- For Fall 2020, 332 students had a semester-long internship with 42% completed onsite
- For Spring 2021, many student internships are fully onsite either on campus or at our partner businesses and organizations
- More than 5,000 undergraduate applications have been received for Fall 2021
- Endowment has continued to grow and now sits at more than $119 million
Endicott College has announced that it will offer the full range of in-person instruction and on-campus activities for Fall 2021, as the federal government is now predicting that every adult in the U.S. will have access to the COVID-19 vaccine by this summer. The College anticipates that many of the COVID-19 constraints currently in place will likely be relaxed as the pandemic subsides following mass vaccination efforts.
“There is no doubt we will continue to make the health and safety of the campus community our highest priority,” said DiSalvo. “Our focus is and has always been about taking care of our people, particularly the students we serve both in and out of the classroom. We will not stop monitoring the guidelines of the CDC and local and state health officials and following the advice of medical and science professionals as we emerge from the worst of the crisis.”