Columbia University has announced that all final exams and academic assessments for schools on the Morningside Heights campus will be conducted remotely for the remainder of the semester due to an "evolving campus situation" involving pro-Palestinian protests.
The move comes after violent clashes across US campuses over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including at UCLA where protesters and counter-protesters violently clashed on Wednesday according to local media reports. At Columbia itself, tensions have been rising with an encampment of pro-Palestinian student activists occupying the campus for nearly two weeks. On Tuesday night, dozens of anti-Israel violent protesters, including some who are antisemitic, were arrested by NYPD after barricading themselves inside an academic building, which the university had been trying to clear.
In a message to the university community on May 1, 2024, Provost Angela V. Olinto stated, "Given the evolving campus situation, we are working hard to provide support and accommodation to our students, particularly those who are in residence on our Morningside campus. Again, the safety of our community is our highest priority as we strive to support our students' learning and all the required academic operations."
Olinto provided key details: "All academic activities for schools on the Morningside Heights campus will be fully remote for the remainder of the semester. Any remaining class meetings, review sessions, or office hours should be held fully remotely, and all final exams and other final assessments should be fully remote." There are a few exceptions, such as the School of the Arts graduate programs potentially having some in-person assessments.
Olinto added, "Instructors should be in touch with students in their classes as soon as practicable to explain how the remote version of final exams and final assessments will be conducted." She encouraged faculty to provide accommodations like giving take-home finals, adjusting exam weights, making exams optional, or canceling finals.
The message stated, "Final exams must provide for an asynchronous option to accommodate students who have left campus and returned to homes that may be in different time zones."
It also noted, "Students who qualify for disability accommodations via Disability Services will be advised by that office." Grade deadlines were also extended, with the message saying, "The deadlines for the submission of grades for graduating students has been moved from Friday, May 10, to Monday, May 13."
The anti-Israel protests have become politically charged ahead of the 2024 US presidential election, with Republicans criticizing some university administrators for not doing enough to curb what they see as anti-Jewish rhetoric and harassment on campuses.
