UNIVERSITY
Updates
A YEAR UNLIKE ANY OTHER
By now, you’ve heard enough about it. COVID-19 has changed so many aspects of our lives, and higher education is certainly no exception. At Tennessee Wesleyan, like many institutions, classes were moved to a fully online format in March 2020 as the virus made its initial wave. Faculty were given two days to make the transition, and students were encouraged, when possible, to work from home the remainder of the semester. Students living on campus were allowed to remain there, and the food service staff worked tirelessly to provide meals, aided over the summer by local churches and organizations. The decision was made during the summer to bring students back to campus in August, with a host of precautions in place to provide the safest experience possible. Classrooms were outfitted with distanced desks, sanitizer, and have been cared for with new powerful BioProtect cleaner. Every building was outfitted with iWave systems in the HVAC, proven to kill the COVID-19 virus.
Students have been required to wear masks inside buildings and asked to socially distance whenever possible. The Student Life office has diligently tracked contact between students. These represent just a portion of the many precautions taken to ensure safe academic development for our students. In large part, the students, faculty, and staff of Tennessee Wesleyan have answered the call, and the campus had success in keeping our doors open throughout the Fall 2020 semester.
We continue to pray for a quick resolution to the COVID-19 virus, and hope that we will be able to return to the full University experience our students expect. RECORD ENROLLMENT Tennessee Wesleyan University welcomed a record number of students in the fall, with a total enrollment of 1,168. Fall 2020 marks the second consecutive year of record enrollment for TWU, following a total headcount of 1,142 back in 2019. “We are very pleased that we have another record year of enrollment,” said TWU President Dr. Harley Knowles. “It is a credit to our new and returning students who had faith in us and chose to attend despite concerns about the pandemic. Our students have told us over and over that they are drawn to our campus community because it is a place where they feel safe, supported, and academically challenged.” While a variety of factors impact total enrollment, particularly notable in the fall
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