Bard College
PRE-2: Points of Distinction

In response to the Covid-19 emergency, and in keeping with the College's longtime commitment to be a private institution acting in the public interest, the College responded to the great educational disruption and uncertainty by offering unique opportunities for students in the region to apply to the College between April 1 - June 1.

Hudson Valley Scholarships
For applicants from the surrounding Hudson Valley counties of Columbia, Dutchess, Greene, Orange, Putnam, Sullivan, and Ulster, Bard is reopened its application window from April 1 through May 1, 2020. A special scholarship was made available. Bard already provides $3.3 million annually in scholarships to local students.

Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Advanced Achievement Scholars Program
In keeping with the College's long tradition of early college work nationally, including in the nine public high school early colleges across the country, the Bard Annandale campus announced scholarships for local high school juniors who may be re-envision their senior year in high school during the time of Covid-19.

This program is named for Bard's neighbors, the Roosevelts of Hyde Park. Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt frequented the campus and Franklin D. Roosevelt was a trustee of the College. It was at the urging of the Roosevelts that Bard (then St. Stephens College) became part of Columbia University, a relationship that only ended when Bard advocated for the admission of women in 1944 (Columbia followed suit four decades later in 1983).

Bard has always offered particularly ambitious high school juniors the option to apply to the College early and has been administering degree-granting, early college programs since 1979. IN The Bard Network has a history of dedication and tremendous success in providing college education on an earlier timeline, and is uniquely suited to provide educational alternatives. In the current climate of uncertainty, high school juniors may be seeking greater stability and the College is acting to harness its expertise on behalf of students in the region.

Bard College is one of three private, four-year institutions of higher education to receive the first-ever Richard Guarasci Award for Institutional Transformation from Campus Compact, a national coalition of more than 1,000 colleges and universities committed to building democracy through civic education and community development. The award is one of Campus Compact's Impact Awards, which honor "individuals and institutions for their achievement in advancing the public purposes of higher education." Bard was recognized for its commitment to extending opportunities for liberal arts education to historically excluded communities.

This award continues an auspicious start to 2020 in which Bard has taken a leadership role in the formation of the Open Society University Network and has received the Carnegie Classification for Community Engagement. Bard is proud to continue its collegiate mission to function as a private college for the public good.

The Carnegie Foundation's Classification for Community Engagement is an elective classification, meaning that it is based on voluntary participation by institutions. The elective classification involves data collection and documentation of important aspects of institutional mission, identity and commitments and requires substantial effort invested by participating institutions.

The classification is not an award. It is an evidence-based documentation of institutional practice to be used in a process of self-assessment and quality improvement. In this way, it is similar to an accreditation process of self-study. The documentation is reviewed by a National Review Panel to determine whether the institution qualifies for recognition as a community engaged institution.