Virtual Graduation June 16 & Summer 2020 Stays Remote

Santa Monica College to Hold Virtual Graduation on June 16, Summer Session 2020 Will Stay Remote

College Seeks to Safeguard Students & Employees During COVID-19, Extensive Tech Resources and Support Available to Ensure Student Success

SANTA MONICA, CA—Santa Monica College (SMC) will hold a virtual graduation ceremony on June 16, 2020 and its summer session, which begins June 22, will remain remote. Classes and extensive student support services will be provided in remotely accessible environments, as the college seeks to limit the spread of COVID-19 and safeguard the health and wellbeing of the SMC community. The college—all facilities, five satellite campuses, walkways, and open spaces included—remains closed to the general public, until further notice.

Santa Monica College has rolled out a comprehensive student support network to ensure that students remain on track to achieve their academic and career goals. Nearly 200 students and 191 faculty and staff have been loaned Chromebook laptop computers to date, so that they can access the needed technologies required from home. The college’s continuing free technology lending program—along with the most extensive one-on-one student support network in California including more than 170 career and academic counselors, plus psychologists—is part of a safety net developed to ensure that those who enroll in the 800-plus classes this summer are able to meet their personal goals. 

SMC’s online schedule of classes accessible at smc.edu/classes will be updated by Monday, April 20, to reflect the most current information on the hundreds of classes that will be available this summer. For more details on how to enroll, and assistance with the process, go to smc.edu/enroll. SMC Emeritus and noncredit classes will also be delivered remotely.

“Santa Monica College will keep delivering the high-quality education it is known for, in spite of the circumstances,” SMC Superintendent/President Dr. Kathryn E. Jeffery wrote in a memo to the college community on Tuesday, April 7. She also noted that SMC’s counselors are “one click away” for students. A redesigned counseling webpage gives both new and returning students the ability to find the counselor they need. “Students will be able to live-chat and/or schedule video and phone appointments with counselors who are eager to engage with them, impart information, and provide academic, career and mental health support,” Dr. Jeffery wrote.

Vice President of Academic Affairs Dr. Jennifer Merlic noted that SMC’s distinguished faculty members, who represent the best in their respective fields, have demonstrated great flexibility and innovation to adopt instructional methods that best enable students to master course content in the remote environment.  “While these circumstances are not ideal, I have absolute confidence that SMC faculty possess both the empathy and the intellectual and creative ability to continue to guide and teach students with the highest standards of educational excellence!”

SMC Graduation & 90th Commencement Ceremony | June 16, 2020

“As Santa Monica College continues to evaluate the public health crisis caused by COVID-19, it has become apparent that it will be impossible to maintain the safety and health of our graduates and guests in a traditional setting, where thousands gather in Corsair Field,” SMC Superintendent/President Dr. Kathryn E. Jeffery wrote in the April 7 memo, “therefore we will have a virtual graduation ceremony.”With input and feedback from student leaders, Santa Monica College is planning a virtual ceremony that “will help make the day as meaningful and special as possible,” Dr. Jeffery wrote. More details on the June 16 virtual celebration are forthcoming.

SMC is inviting the graduates of the Class of 2020 who wish to participate in a traditional ceremony to do so in 2021’s graduation ceremony. The college will still produce a graduation program booklet and mail diplomas to graduates’ homes.

“Without a doubt, graduation day is the highlight of the year for us, but, most of all, for the students who have given so much to achieve their dreams,” Dr. Jeffery wrote. “That walk across the stage, that diploma often represents not just the hard work and sacrifice of the graduates, but also of their family members and loved ones. The decision was not an easy one to make—we did so because the wellbeing of SMC graduates, employees, and guests is our highest priority.”In addition to continuing to provide high-quality, accessible education and support services in a remote environment, Santa Monica College has also launched a food security program in the form of a drive-thru pop-up pantry to meet the basic needs of students who are unable to access the college’s on-campus food security programs during this time. During the first drive-thru pantry, held April 2, students received 250 bags of non-perishable food items from Westside Food Bank and SMC’s 10 donor-supported food closets as well as 500 meals from social enterprise Everytable, and cupcakes from The Butter End Cakery. Another drive-thru pantry is planned for Thursday, April 9, for enrolled students with valid SMC IDs, where mandatory social distancing and hygiene standards will continue to be enforced.

The SMC Foundation’s Meal Project has also begun delivering a week’s worth of meals via Everytable to 700 students whose needs were identified by SMC counselors and staff: they included those who are housing insecure or homeless, veterans, older adults, and foster youth. A $2 million fundraising campaign—SMC donated $500,000 via grant funds—has been launched by the foundation to feed 3,000 students during the time that the college is operating remotely.

For more information on SMC’s response to COVID-19, visit smc.edu/coronavirus.

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About Santa Monica College

Founded in 1929, Santa Monica College is a California Community College accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). For 29 consecutive years, SMC has been California’s leader in transfers to UCLA, UC Berkeley, and other University of California campuses. The college also tops in transfers to the University of Southern California and Loyola Marymount University. More than 110 career training degrees and certificates at SMC offer professional preparation for students interested in directly entering the job market, transferring to a four-year school, or upgrading specific skills. SMC provides news and cultural enrichment through its NPR radio station KCRW (89.9 FM) and The Broad Stage at the SMC Performing Arts Center as well as lifelong learning through distinctive programs such as its Emeritus Program for older adults.