Covid-19 continues to impact individuals, families, communities, and college campuses throughout the country and the world. At Antioch College, we have taken those health risks seriously, altering how we make housing assignments in our residence halls, serve meals in our kitchens, offer our classes, gather on campus, and monitor the health of students and employees.

As we enter the final weeks of the fall quarter, we are happy to report that we have had zero Covid-19 cases on our campus.

We are preparing for the winter quarter and also taking early steps toward fall 2021. We are confident the protocols we have put in place on our campus in Yellow Springs will continue to make it possible to offer students a safe option for an on-campus college experience.

Why did we return to campus?

For Antioch College, the answer is in our mission.

Antioch is a small residential college in Yellow Springs, located in Southwestern Ohio. Our students alternate between terms of on-campus study and off-campus field experiences in our Cooperative Education program. Community engagement is also an important part of learning, so our systems of shared governance provide students with avenues to make policy, advocate, and have a say in the operation of their college.

We offer test-optional admissions, and our application reviews are fully holistic. Yes, we want to understand what students have studied in high school and whether they’ve challenged themselves academically. We also want to know what goals students have set for themselves, what their passions are, and whether they understand the unique nature of our approach to liberal arts education.

When I speak with prospective students, I tell them this about our application process: We are not comparing your academic achievements to any other student who has applied. We want to know you, and we hope you’ll use the application process to learn more about Antioch College and the experiences you would have should you be admitted and choose to enroll. 

Education as experience

Antioch College seeks to provide students with meaningful experiences as preparation for meaningful lives.Our mission is inherited from a purpose articulated by our founding president Horace Mann, informed by an educational philosophy made most famous by John Dewey, and operationalized in a Cooperative Education program developed under the leadership of President Arthur Morgan in the 1920s.

Students who enroll at Antioch College want to make positive change in their communities and the world, “win victories for humanity,” as Mann said in the College’s first convocation. We believe education is not just learning in a classroom but “a social process,” as Dewey wrote in his article “My Pedagogic Creed” (1897); therefore we provide students with broad agency to work with faculty and staff to determine the agreements that govern how we live and work in community. Our Cooperative Education program provides students with an “industrial education,” that is, real-world, compensated work experience.

We do everything we can to provide access to students who wish to attend.

This is, no doubt, a challenging year for students who are beginning their college search process, especially with restricted travel that may make it hard for them to visit the colleges in which they have an interest. 

Here are some helpful links:

• Read about what we’ve done to ensure the safest, on campus experience for our students. Visit https://antiochcollege.edu/novel-coronavirus/
• Check out our video series to discover more about Antioch from students and faculty. Visit https://antiochcollege.edu/discover
• If you can visit, we welcome you to campus for an individualized tour. Visit https://antiochcollege.edu/admission/visit-campus/
• Schedule a phone call or video conference with your admissions counselor. Visit https://antiochcollege.edu/admission/admission-staff/