Notre Dame College is adhering to stay-at-home orders in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, but its academic and student services are all still available.
The College has transitioned to virtual learning for the remainder of the spring 2020 on-site semester, and while its campus facilities are closed, support programs are accessible—and many have been expanded—via digital modalities at no extra cost.
Notre Dame is known for its personal touch and individual attention. The College also is offering ways for students, faculty and staff to stay connected despite social distancing. From video tutoring to online advising and accommodations, even interactive campus ministry and counseling, these outreach and response options amid Coronavirus concerns are in addition to recurring faculty and class contacts.
Tutoring
The College is offering students access to multimedia tutoring sessions available via Microsoft Office Teams, which features chatting, video conferencing, file sharing and more. The extra instruction encompasses business, communication, math, nursing, sciences and writing.
Textbooks
The College’s online bookstore is providing a selection of ebooks at no cost through its digital course materials platform, VitalSource. The free access to online texts and related materials for faculty as well as students continues through Monday, May 25.
Advising
Notre Dame continues to deliver appropriate accommodations to students who are entitled to services in the College’s Dwyer Learning Center or the Academic Support Center for Students with Learning Differences based upon documented learning disabilities. In addition, students who are cleared to register for summer and fall classes, can do so online anytime by logging in to the College’s MyNDC portal or contacting the Student Success Center.
The College offers advising and related services for adult, graduate, online and professional development programs through its digital and phone Finn Center all the time.
Library
Notre Dame’s Clara Fritzsche Library has acquired online access to three new databases with extra full-text content to assist College members during this virtual spring semester. The resources are Academic Search Ultimate, Business Source Ultimate and eBook Academic Collection. All three are available through June upon login from the library website.
The library also has added a database, Faculty Select, that allows instructors to search more than 12,400 Open Educational Resources, copy/paste links to relevant materials into their Learning Management System or send links directly. These assets only are available to faculty and only through a direct link.
When most public and many college and university libraries are closed, Notre Dame’s Clara Fritzsche Library is maintaining full-time spring semester hours via phone Mondays through Fridays from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. The number to call is 216.373.5267 or email ndclibrary@ndc.edu.
The Notre Dame library has extended all spring semester loans through the end of August 2020. Students, faculty and staff may return materials at the beginning of the fall semester without overdue charges. While the facility is closed to patrons for the rest of the spring semester, the book return, which is accessible from outside the building, remains open and will be checked regularly.
Career Services
Notre Dame’s Career Services Center is hosting virtual internship orientations for students during the stay-at-home order. The information sessions about preparing for and participating in work experiences are being conducted via group video conferencing sessions. The College requires all students earning Bachelor of Arts degrees to finish a full internship for course credit. Many other students pursue positions as interns to complement their classroom learning.
Ministry
The College’s Campus Ministry office regularly offers a weekly email newsletter and now has added video reflections for weekly Scripture readings. The team is hosting a new “zoom room” every Wednesday from 2-3 p.m. during which all members of the campus community are welcome to drop-in via video conference to connect.
Counseling
In addition to offering online counseling requests and confidential telephone therapy to students, the Notre Dame Counseling Center plans to provide drop-in forums for members of the campus community to visit with each other utilizing the College’s Microsoft Teams platform. The counselors have added free access around the clock to online therapy modules for faculty and staff as well as students.
Faculty member Michele Fry, M.S., M.A., visiting Instructor in psychology, also has created a website, PositiveChangeMakers.org to aid people with mental health concerns and to offer opportunities for personal development during this time of social isolation.
Engagement
The College’s Student Engagement and Leadership office is using social media, among other virtual outreach, to involve students during the stay-at-home order. The team is posting daily to Instagram, and their site features “boredom busters,” Wellness Wednesdays, ideas for staying positive and tips and tricks for virtual learning. Everyone, not just Notre Dame students, can engage online at Instagram.com/NDCStudentEngagement.
The campus Falcon Café also is going virtual. The coffee and spirit shop, which offers handmade lunches and other food items during typical times, is sharing ideas to help with quarantine cooking in its weekly email newsletter. To share a recipe, a menu planning idea or a meal that the whole family can help create or to sign up to receive communications from the café, email Leanne Edmonds at ledmonds@ndc.edu or call 216.373.6332.
March 2020
About Notre Dame College
For almost a century, Notre Dame College has educated a diverse population in the liberal arts for personal, professional and global responsibility. Founded by the Sisters of Notre Dame in 1922, the College has grown strategically to keep pace with the rapidly changing needs of students and the dramatic changes in higher education. But it has never lost sight of its emphasis on teaching students not only how to make a good living but also how to live a good life.
Today, the College offers bachelor’s degrees in 30 disciplines plus a variety of master’s degrees, certification programs and continuing and professional development programs for adult learners on campus and online. Notre Dame College offers NCAA Division II intercollegiate athletic programs for men and women and is located in a picturesque residential neighborhood just 25 minutes from the heart of Cleveland. Hallmarks of the Notre Dame experience include stimulating academics, personalized attention of dedicated faculty and staff, and small class sizes.
Notre Dame College is located at 4545 College Road in South Euclid. For further information contact Brian Johnston, chief communications officer, at 216.373.5252 or bjohnston@ndc.edu.