Updates from President Thierfelder
May 29th: Update from Dr. Thierfelder
Watch the latest message from the President of Belmont Abbey College, Dr. Bill Thierfelder.
May 21st: Update from Dr. Thierfelder
Watch the latest message from the President of Belmont Abbey College, Dr. Bill Thierfelder.
May 15th: Update from Dr. Thierfelder
Watch the latest message from the President of Belmont Abbey College, Dr. Bill Thierfelder.
Refund Updates
As a result of the shift from in-person classes and residency to remote curriculum delivery on March 30th, we are providing students with a credit for the unused portion of their room, meal plan, and related sales tax fees. This credit will be applied to student accounts today, May 14, and is calculated based on the date when the final decision was determined to move to remote learning (40% of the semester remaining).
The calculation for the unused portion of a student’s spring 2020 room, meal plan, and related sales tax, requires two calculations, which are as follows:
Student Contribution Calculation
(Student Payments + Student/Parent loans)
Divided by
(Tuition +Room + Meal plan and related sales tax)
=
Student Contribution
(Limited to 100%)
Total Credit Calculation
40% of (Room + Meal Plan and related Sales Tax)
Multiplied by
Student Contribution (above)
=
Total credit
- If a student has a balance due as of May 14, the credits will help resolve the balance due.
- If a student wishes to have the credit applied toward their balance for summer 2020, they must contact the Crusader Success Hub by sending an email to billing@bac.edu from their BAC email.
- Upon satisfaction of a student’s outstanding account balance, the College will issue a check or direct deposit for the surplus amount. To expedite payment, please update banking information at the following secure link: https://heartland.ecsi.net/. As a reminder, please do not communicate banking information via email or text.
May 8th: Update from Dr. Thierfelder
Watch the latest message from the President of Belmont Abbey College, Dr. Bill Thierfelder.
Regarding the Option for Pass/Fail
Belmont Abbey College is aware of a petition initiated by someone outside our academic community which suggests that the College give an option for pass/fail grades to our students due to the challenges we all have faced with the COVID-19 virus. This option has been evaluated by the administration including the provost and other academic officers, and we have decided the best approach is to continue our grading as planned. We know that only a small number of our students are interested in the pass/fail option but felt it worthy of addressing the issue in order to allay any concerns.
The good news is that prior to the time of the closing of the campus in March, our student’s mid-term grades were clear with known communication between faculty and students. With the subsequent transition to remote learning, we have urged our faculty to use a standard of “fairness over firmness” regarding final grades for the semester to account for the radically different way of learning. Rather than introduce further uncertainty into an already uneasy environment, and to avoid additional work for our already taxed faculty and staff, the college will not provide an option of pass/fail grades.
Moreover, a pass/fail grade could have unexpected implications on individuals regarding completion of their major field of student, potential graduate school admissions, undergraduate graduation honors, and for other awards. However, to recognize the exceptional situation facing our students and faculty this semester, the college’s official transcripts will chronicle the highly unusual pandemic circumstance by including this statement: “The COVID-19 pandemic required significant academic changes. Unusual enrollment patterns and grades received by students may reflect the disruption of their time and may be inconsistent with students’ typical performance.”
For our students and faculty, let us continue to go forward with confidence in our abilities, and embrace the challenge we have shared. We have persevered through this unexpected reality, and we know that you can complete the semester and finish strong!
We wish all our students the very best possible as we close out Spring Semester, 2020.
God Bless,
Dr. William K. Thierfelder
President of Belmont Abbey College