The Middlebury Off-Campus Project

Optional Pass/D/Fail is community failure

"What drives the pushback against universal pass/fail is the unwillingness of privileged Middlebury students to forego the unmerited benefits they receive from said privilege."

Bracing for seismic impact of remote learning, faculty turn to DLINQ

DLINQ has encouraged faculty to use a variety of online tools, including the now-ubiquitous conferencing platform Zoom for live video calls and Panopto for posted lectures.

Grading takes center stage as students prepare for unprecedented shift to online classes

Students organized the #FairGradesMidd and #OptInMidd petitions, generating buzz among students and faculty, after the college announced an opt-in Pass/D/Fail grading policy.

Notes from the desk: In support of universal Pass/D/Fail

"The current opt-in Pass/D/Fail system presents an illusion of choice."

Universal pass/fail puts grades before learning

"We should not ask ourselves how we can make sure everyone receives the same on-paper outcome, but rather how we can help those who need support."

Current grading options are an equitable compromise

"In these difficult times, we have to be honest with ourselves about our goals and the effort we’re planning on putting into our work."

Students need grades, and we can have grades without sacrificing equitability

"Despite imperfections, the letter grading system is the last guardian of fairness in an inherently unfair society."

Circumstance is not choice, but community is

"We cannot choose the circumstances we live in, but we still have a choice about the kind community we want to create."

Make all courses pass/fail now

Students aren’t having a real college experience. We shouldn’t pretend that they are.

Developing: Commencements across Vermont and the Northeast affected by Covid-19

Last updated April 20, 1:00 p.m. Colleges across Vermont and Middlebury's peer schools in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) have been faced with the possibility of not conducting commencement exercises as originally planned, due to concerns about in-person gatherings during ...

What happens now that we’re all in long-distance friendships?

Genevieve Herron '23 proposes a solution to the difficulty of long-distance friendships: letter writing.

Midd students scramble to get home as Covid-19 shuts down programs abroad

Students struggled with quickly-changing travel restrictions and a chaotic return home as their study abroad programs were suspended.

We will actively update this map in response to how various Middlebury programs are affected by Covid-19.

Online dating in the era of Covid-19

Our Sex Panther has compiled all the best coronavirus references from the dating apps she's been scanning while sheltering in place at home.

The college’s ‘first priority’: continuing staff wages

At Middlebury--the largest employer in Addison County--the college’s crisis management team has developed a roadmap for maintaining staff wages after most students departed during the unfolding pandemic. 

Please don't take a vacation in the middle of a global pandemic

"Right now, your decisions as a traveler, as a tourist, are bound to have unintended consequences."

Local business takes hit from mandated closures and quarantined public

As Middlebury College students evacuated campus and Covid-19 broke out in Vermont, town businesses saw a decline in sales and were forced to close or reduce staff.

Porter Hospital confirms Addison County’s first case of Covid-19

The individual tested positive through Porter Hospital's drive-through testing service and is now self-isolating.

Approximately 175 students approved to stay on campus

Fewer than 140 students remain on campus as they wait with uncertainty for the college's next steps.

Ellie Eberlee: March 19, 2020