View of Columbia Nursing lobby from outside in.

Nursing Building Closure and Student Lockers

March 18, 2020

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Update: Monday, March 23

With New York Governor Cuomo’s recent announcement further limiting non-essential workers, staff will only be available until 3pm today, Monday, March 23 to give students access to lockers in the School of Nursing building.

If you have not emptied your locker yet, you can empty locker your locker today until 3pm. Students must enter through the Russ Berrie building, and there will be an Office of Student Affairs staff member to authorize security to allow you in to pick up your locker items.

When coming to campus, please be mindful of practicing social distancing (6 ft. from others).

Dear Nursing Students,

The School of Nursing leadership is working diligently to advocate for our nursing students, while keeping your health and safety central to all the decisions being made. I hope this message will provide you with some guidance and clarity for the next several days.

  • Didactic Courses:  For the remainder of the spring term, all didactic courses have been moved to an e-learning environment. This will allow you to participate in class remotely. Students who are currently working with the Office of Disabilities are encouraged to reach out to their office if any concerns arise or with accommodation questions. You may also contact the School of Nursing disability liaison, Tania Quispe at tpq2101@cumc.columbia.edu.
  • Commencement:  As of yet, we have not received any information about the commencement ceremonies. As soon as we have information, we will contact the graduates.
  • School of Nursing Building:  Effective Friday, March 20 at 6pm, the School of Nursing building will only be open to essential employees. Students will not have access to the building and will not be able to use the group study rooms. Faculty and staff are available to meet with students via Zoom and respond to email.
  • Student Lockers:  If you have a locker at the School of Nursing, please remove all your items no later than Monday, March 23 by 4:30pm. There are three options to empty your locker:
    • Empty locker by 6:00pm on Friday, March 20 (the last day students can enter the building).
    • Empty locker on Monday, March 23 between 9:00am-4:30pm. Students must enter through the Russ Berrie building, and there will be an Office of Student Affairs staff person to authorize security to allow you in to pick up your locker items.
    • If you are no longer in the New York area, we can ship locker items to you. To request your items be shipped, complete this form by Tuesday, March 24: Request Items to be Mailed. Please allow two weeks for items to ship. Once the items are shipped, you will receive an email confirmation. E-mail OSSnursing@cumc.columbia.edu with any questions.
  • Student Health Services:  CUIMC Student Health is transitioning to a virtual service delivery model. Visit the new Student Health Appointment Portal.
  • Continue to the visit Columbia University’s emergency preparedness site and CUIMC’s emergency response site for the most up-to-date information on COVID-19 from both communities.

Columbia Nursing’s Student Affairs Office will remain open from 10am-3pm with a small staff, but will operate mostly remotely until further notice. We are able to continue serving students remotely by responding to your emails and coordinating teleconference meetings via Zoom with individual students.

Please contact the following offices if you have questions and concerns:

  • Office of Student Services (OSSnursing@cumc.columbia.edu):  If you have questions about disability accommodations, lockers, internal student applications, graduation, or enrollment.
  • Office of Financial Aid (sonfinaid@cumc.columbia.edu):  If you have questions about managing your current 2019-2020 Award or your upcoming 2020-2021 Award (e.g.: loan changes). This is a perfect time to plan ahead!
  • Office of Student Life (sonstudentlife@cumc.columbia.edu):  If you have questions about career prep (resumes, mock interviews, etc.), student organization, student council, peer mentorship.

I know this situation has been overwhelming, and I want to thank you for your patience and understanding as we work together to understand and process this developing situation with our Columbia University and Columbia Nursing community.

If you have any concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us.

In Community,

Judy Wolfe, Ed.D.
Associate Dean, Student Affairs
Columbia University School of Nursing