For students and educators, the “new normal” brought on by COVID-19 has been a true test of resilience and confidence. To say it has changed the college experience would be a gross understatement. It has universally shaken academia to the core in mere weeks.
Students have lost their jobs due to business closures; many have been forced to move off campus, removing the invaluable face time they have had with peers and professors. Many of them don’t know what lies ahead—financially or academically.
The same can be said for professors, who have been asked to move all of their courses online in a matter of days. They have worked tirelessly to make their guidance and mentorship as valuable on a computer screen as it is in the classroom. Many of you have shared your experiences with us during this transition and have reached out to your peers in solidarity.
We have seen incredible grit and collaboration from both students and educators—and we want to contribute what we can during this time.
To support students, here are the initiatives we have in place so far:
- We are making an initial gift of $200,000 to support Student Emergency Relief. Please let us know if you are interested. We will reach out when the program is fully activated.
- Several colleges and universities are launching school-specific emergency funds. Here is an early list of college emergency funds. We will keep you informed as this list grows.
- We also know that studying, test taking, and learning are in major flux. To help ease your transition, we have summarized proven techniques and successful systems for succeeding at online learning.
To support educators, we are building partnerships both within and outside of our community to support online instruction:
- All college educators on Course Hero will have complimentary access to our resource library through September 30. To get started, sign up for a verified educator account. If you already have one, log in—100 additional unlocks have been credited to your account.
- Thanks to generous support from a number of faculty who have volunteered their time, we are facilitating peer review between educators who would like feedback on their remote-teaching resources. Visit our online instruction support page to learn more.
- We plan to launch a COVID-19 Educator Support Fund. If you are interested in applying for financial support, please let us know. Your input will help us understand the needs to be met, and we will be in touch when the fund launches.
We wish you all the best as we navigate this new college experience together.
Please stay healthy, stay safe, and stay connected. Keep up your spirits, as challenging as it may be. And remember—we are in this together.
