The Decree
since 1960 “of, by, and for the Wesleyan community- ”
Mayll,2020
NORTH CAROLINA WESLEYAN COLLEGE, ROCKY MOUNT, NORTH CAROLINA 27804
Despite Pandemic, College Expects to Break Even for 2019-2020
President Evan Duff Expresses
Hope NCWC Still 'Comes Close'
To Fall Enrollment Projections
North Carolina Wesleyan still expects
to rebound from last year’s budget
deficit, maintain its employee and salary
levels and “come close" to its enroll
ment projections for next fall despite the
coronavirus pandemic. President Evan
Duff said in a wide-ranging interview.
President Duff responded to Decree
questions on email during the last week of
April, as the remaining Wesleyan students
left campus for the summer, having finished
the spring semester by taking exams and
submitting paper's online. Dr. Duff is nearing
the end of his first year' as interim president.
Q. Have there been any confirmed cases
of coronavims on campus? That would
include students, staff, subcontractors like
cafeteria workers, and delivery-persons?
A. To my knowledge, no one has tested
positive for COVID-19 while on campus. If
anyone felt sick or had any symptoms, they
were asked to self-quarantine for 14 days.
Q. Describe the workings of the ad
hoc committee established to help guide
the college during the pandemic,
A. The Viral Infection Response Team
(VIRT) started meeting early in the semester
to help research trends and make recom
mendations on Wesleyan’s response. It’s met
once or twice a week, since early March.
VIRT was comprised of Associate Dean Jes
sie Langley; Molly Wyatt, academic affairs;
Steve Burrell,residence life; Wayne Sears,
campus safety; Carol Carson, athletics; Da
vid Fryar, facilities; and Physician’s Assistant
Jessica Brys-Wilson, health services.
VIRT worked in tandem with the col
lege’s leadership team in making decisions
that were in the best interest of our students,
faculty, and staff. We all used the latest data
provided by reputable sources, connected
with colleagues at other colleges, and stayed
active on higher education message boards.
Q. Describe campus life in the past six weeks.
A. From the moment we announced
we would remain on remote instruction
until the present date, we’ve had a gradual
change in operations. By April 1. we were
down to 200 students living on campus and
many of our employees moved to telework
options. By Easter we had moved into a
campus lockdown to continue to protect our
students and staff. It was at this time that the
back gates were locked and we established a
security checkpoint at the front of campus.
During the entire time, students could
still walk around campus in groups fewer
than 10, pick up “to-go" food from the
cafeteria, and access computer labs. The
library was open to small groups until the
campus went on lockdown. As of April
27, we started to loosen restrictions and we
allowed students to leave campus for essen
tial items. Faculty, staff and tire community
provided our students with a multitude of
food and hygiene supplies as well as games,
puzzles, and cards for the last six weeks.
By the end of the semester, we still had 90
students on campus, and after graduation,
29 will remain on campus over the summer.
Q. What problems, if any, arose when
it came to students and employees adher
ing to the pandemic policies?
A. I thought everyone involved did a phe
Number-1 singles player Roberto Puig and other spring
sport athletes were sidelined by the coronavirus. Turn
to pages 4 and 5 for Decree sports coverage, including
an interview with Puig on life in Spain. si photo
nomenal job with adhering to our policies
and all the changes we had to make during
this time. I’m so proud of our faculty, staff,
students, and the community. As a family,
we certainly took care of each other.
Q. We understand that data can’t offer
a full picture of the impediments that
day students may have faced as a result
of the switch to online instruction. But
can the college provide statistics on the
number of students who failed courses
this spring? And how many withdrew for
the semester, compared to 2019?
A. The following information was
compiled by the provost’s and registrar’s
offices: There were a total of 5,853 grades
given for courses taken this spring; of
that total, 419, or 7 percent, were Fs; this
compares with 387 Fs out of 5,121, or 7.5
percent, for courses in spring 2019. This
semester there were 42 WFs, or .7 percent,
compared to 23, or .45 percent last year
(An XF is awarded when a student stops
attending classes). There were 218 total
course withdrawals, or about 3.7 percent,
compared to 189, or 3.7 percent, in 2019.
The registrar reports that most withdrawals
this year occurred prior to spring break.
Q. Spring commencement was
canceled. What's the plan for holding the
next commencement?
A. On December 5th, we’ll hold a
special commencement to replace the spring
ceremony we had to cancel. Spring 2020,
August 2020, and fall 2020 graduates will
be allowed to participate. The ceremony will
take place in the Rocky Mount Event Center.
Future commencements will only be held
in the spring, but we will continue to confer
graduates every May. August, and December.
Q. Now talk about lie college’s employ
ees. What percentage of staff now works on
campus? Which employees were required
to be on campus on a regular basis?
A. Staff was always welcome to work
on campus the entire time. The college is
considered an essential business. But if staff
had concerns about their own safety and had
the ability to perform their job from home,
we established a telework policy. When
they're on campus, staff practice social dis
tancing and proper hand-washing policies.
At any given time, I would say we’ve got
close to 30 staff members on campus.
Q. What extra steps has housekeep
ing and maintenance taken to ensure the
health of students and staff?
A. Housekeeping and maintenance are
doing a wonderful job of cleaning and sani
tizing. We’ve been using two Clorox 360
machines to help sanitize surfaces and the
air in offices/rooms/buildings. Additional
measures were taken in April to wipe down
most surfaces, and the cleaning crew wore
face masks and gloves while disinfecting
the campus. Deep cleaning was performed
on the residence halls as students came
back to remove their belongings.
Q. How would you characterize the
performance of the housekeeping, main
tenance and cafeteria staffs?
A. Exceptional. They were always hard-
working, positive, with smiles on their faces.
Q. Talk about the switch to online instruc
tion. How has it gone? What are the most
significant obstacles faculty and students
have encountered?
A. Many faculty have taught online or
hybrid classes prior to COVID-19, and I
would say they were
the most prepared to
move to 100 percent
remote instruction.
This was a new
concept for other
faculty members;
however, they all
spent countless
hours ensuring our
students received
the same, high-level
education that we
deliver face-to-face.
I witnessed faculty
doing video lectures
and dissections,
while others quickly
learned Zoom
and MS Teams to
hold synchronous
lectures with their students. Our faculty are
passionate about what they teach, and CO-
VID-19 would not get in the way of that.
Q. The first summer session has been
converted to online instruction. What's
the plan for the second session?
A. At the present time, the plan is to offer
seated courses in the adult program. If that
happens, we will take precautions to ensure
safety. We’ll limit class sizes, require social
distancing and encourage students and faculty
to wear face masks. This may change and
we’ll be prepared to meet the needs of our
students through some seated and some on-
line classes or 100 percent online, if needed.
Q. Should the stay-at-home rules remain
in place through August, what options is
the college considering for fall? And when
will you and the provost need to make a
final determination regarding fall semester?
A. The provost, faculty leaders, and I will
be meeting about this next week and we’ll de
vise a plan that will be communicated soon.
Q. And what steps do you expect the
college to take to prepare for more full-
scale online instruction?
Louisburg Administrator Jason
Modlin Named Dean of Students
NC Wesleyan has selected an ad
ministrator at Louisburg College as its
new Dean of Students.
Effective June 1, Jason Modlin will
succeed Molly Wyatt, who has held the
post of Interim Dean of Students following
the departure of Ed Naylor last summer.
Dr. Wyatt will continue to serve as Interim
Vice President of Academic Affairs.
In announcing the appointment,
NCWC President Evan Duff highlighted
Dr. Modlin’s extensive experience in
student affairs. For the past 15 years, he’s
served as Vice President of Student Affairs
and Dean of Students at Louisburg, which,
like Wesleyan, is a small private school
affiliated with the Methodist Church.
"Dr. Modlin understands the culture
and needs of the students we serve at
North Carolina Wesleyan College,” the
president said. "He's very student-centric,
and I feel he's going to do an outstanding
job advocating for our students.”
A native of Belhaven in Beaufort
County, Dr. Modlin earned a BA in
English from the University of Mt.
Olive, where he was a resident advisor.
Following graduation, he accepted
a position as an account manager at
Rent-A-Center. His retail experience
was, in his words, "short-lived.” He
then returned to his alma mater to
serve as a residence director.
“I got into student affairs because I
didn't like retail,” he said. "I thought I
would work as a resident director for a
couple of years until I figured out what
I wanted to do for a living.”
He soon found that he enjoyed serv
ing and building relationships with stu
dents. "I’ve been blessed to have been
able to turn that into a career,” he said.
After five years at Mt. Olive, he moved
to Louisburg, a two-year college. In his
first four years, he was an assistant and
then associate dean. When he became
dean in 2005, he was given responsibility
for all areas of the student life program,
including housing/residence life, health
and wellness services, student advocacy
and accountability, campus safety, student
engagement, and campus dining.
He said he’s proud of steps Louisburg
took to meet the evolving needs of its
students. Among the new programs the
college introduced under his leadership
were the National Society for Leader
ship and Success; "Know Your Worth,”
an educational series to address student
relationship issues; “Louisburg Listens,”
a bi-weekly community forum; the
Office of Student Advocacy and Ac
countability; and "Living and Learning
Communities,” which grouped students
with common interests in specified areas
of Louisburg residence halls.
Dr. Modlin said commencement has
always been his favorite day on the
academic calendar. "We get to see each
A. IF that’s the case, yes, we would
provide some more large-scale training
for our faculty in small groups this sum
mer with our instructional technologist.
Q. What's the latest on enrollment
projections for fall in the traditional pro
gram? Besides providing numbers, try to
explain the trends you're seeing so far.
A. Deposits are coming in slower than the
same period last year, but applications are
higher. Students, especially local students, aren't
rashing their decisions. They too are trying to
see how this will all play out. I suspect we’ll find
that local students who may have planned to at
tend ECU, or a college farther away, may attend
Wesleyan in the fall to be closer to home.
We projected to start with 375 new students
next fall, and while we may not hit that goal,
we’re confident we will come close. We’ve
already developed multiple projections with
our 2020-2021 budget, so we'll have a plan
regardless of the actual enrollment numbers.
Q. Would you agree that the college
stands to see a steep decrease in internation
al students, due to travel restrictions, etc.?
A. It’s hard to forecast this. As we’ve
Dr. Jason Modlin, NCWC's new
Dean of Students Photo courtesy of J. Modlin
student that we’ve served and helped
along the way to earning a college
degree,” he said. “For me, it’s very re
warding to know I played a small role
in helping them to achieve that goal."
The new dean said he’s been impressed
by the commitment of Wesleyan’s student
affairs staff. He recognizes the impact a
small private school can make on students.
“I’m an example of the type of success
a student can realize as a result of attending
institutions such as NC Wesleyan," he said.
Dr. Modlin holds an MA in educa
tion from East Carolina University and
a doctorate in education and education
al leadership from UNC-Wilmington.
Health Services Urges Students
Not to Become Complacent
Jessica Brys-Wilson, the college's Di
rector of Health Services, has been closely
monitoring the health of the Wesleyan
community, as colleges across the country
deal with the coronavirus pandemic.
A physician’s assistant. Brys-Wilson
was interviewed by the Decree in early
and late April.
Q. At least in the early going, there
was a perception that coronavirus was
only a concern for the elderly and Ameri
cans with underlying health problems
such as diabetes and asthma. What would
you say to the average 20-year-old who
feels immune from the disease?
A. The most recent number I’ve seen
was that 45 percent of people affected are
between the ages of 20 and 49. Twenty
year-olds are not immune. There have
also been recent reports of significant ad
verse effects in young adults who didn’t
even know they were sick. This means
that a student could catch the coronavirus
without even knowing it and then, days
to weeks later, suffer a life-threatening
complication. The safest thing to do is
to just follow the guidelines that are in
place to prevent catching the virus.
seen over the last six weeks, information
and situations change daily. I do expect
some students to have visa and travel issues,
which will impact their ability to come
back or to start at Wesleyan. At this time, I
wouldn’t characterize it as a steep decrease.
Q. Earlier in winter, the college was
predicting a break-even year. What's the
latest year-end projection for the budget?
A. We’re still anticipating a break-even
year. Spending has certainly decreased
across campus and savings have been cap
tured with the close of the spring athletic
season. We'll incur additional expenses
with some room and board refunds, but
our savings should help to offset that.
Q. Is the college considering partial
refunds to students for room and board?
If so, how would that work?
A. The calculation will be based on when
the student left and how much institutional aid
(internal grant funded by the college) was used
to pay for that room and board. The difference
will then be applied to the student’s account.
There is also assistance from the Department
of Education through the CARES Act that will
directly benefit students eligible for Title IV
funding. Once this money is received and the
final guidelines are provided, we can start to
issue credits and refunds to students.
Q. Around the country, you hear reports
that colleges and universities have furloughed
employees and/or cut salary. So far, has the
college furloughed employees? Is the college
now considering furloughs or pay cuts?
A. We’re extremely fortunate and blessed
that we have not had to furlough any em
ployees. We’re not considering furloughs or
pay cuts, and we just gave faculty and staff
a raise for their dedication over the last year.
We're able to do this with smart and realistic
budget forecasting and then by meeting our
goals. It takes the entire college to meet goals
for admission and retention as well as fund-
raising. We are and will continue to work as
a team and a family to reach our goals.
Q. Related follow-up: Given the situation,
do you feel Wesleyan’s small size gives it ad
vantages over larger colleges and universities?
A. I really do. While we don't have a
large endowment, we have hard-working
faculty and staff who collaborate to lift up
the college, to meet the needs of our stu
dents, and to thrive in a time when that’s
not the norm. We’re nimble and, without
bureaucracy, we can make decisions to
protect our faculty, staff and students.
Q. Does the college intend to hire new
staff, in direct response to the pandemic,
prior to fall semester?
A. This fall we hope to add a few
positions that will include housekeep
ing and maintenance as well as some
services to assist with counseling.
Q. If the college suffers significant
financial strain in the months ahead,
see PANDEMIC pg 8
Q. Have you seen behavior on campus
that concerns you?
A. In general, most students have followed
the guidelines put in place for their safety. I do
hear occasional reports of students gathering
in groups but, for the most part, they’ve shown
caution and followed the social distancing
recommendations. We’ve put several rules in
place to protect the entire campus. Not follow
ing the rules jeopardizes the safety of all of us.
Q. What's activity been like in the
health center in the past two months?
What have you been seeing and treating?
A. The health center has seen about the
same number of patients as this time last
year. We had an unusual virus circulating in
January and February; that seemed to fizzle
out by the second week of March. For the
most part, I’ve been seeing patients with
allergy symptoms and then just answering
many questions about the pandemic.
Q. How would characterize the emo
tional well-being of students you've seen?
A. Since we suspended face-to-face classes,
most students have been pretty calm. I haven’t
heard of a lot of anxiety among students with
regard to the coronavirus in the last few weeks.
See HEALTH pg 2