3-18-20 Message to Community
Mar 18, 2020
Colleagues,
With one week of remote delivery of classes under our belt, the world keeps moving and we are trying very hard to stay one step ahead - or, more accurately, not more than one step behind. One of the many things that makes this such a deeply difficult time is because we do not always know what to expect. We all hope for a resolution to COVID-19, but of course none of us know when that will happen, what that will look like, or when we will be able to get back to business as usual.
Many good things continue to happen despite all this upheaval. One of those good things is the hiring of our next Dean of the Farmer School of Business, Dr. Jenny Darroch. The announcement is now public (see our announcement here: https://www.miamioh.edu/news/ top-stories/2020/03/new-fsb- dean.html). I know the Miami community will welcome her and will see FSB continue to amplify the strengths and national reputation under her leadership.
Topics:
Faculty have requested that in the event of a travel ban or campus closure we provide sufficient warning for them to retrieve anything they might need from their offices. Please understand that if we are directed by the state or federal government to “shelter in place” or to close campus, we will likely have little notice. I strongly recommend that we all work now to retrieve anything you may need for the next several weeks from your office, lab, etc.
Dorm closure FYI:
From Dean of Students, Kimberly Moore, “In light of the statewide emergency declaration, the residence halls will now be closing Saturday, March 21, at 5 p.m.” This continues to be a concerted effort to get students to leave Oxford and get safely to their family homes, where possible. They are of course, working with students who may not be able to return home.
Pass/Fail (credit/no credit) for all courses this semester:
In light of the upheaval that COVID-19 has caused, we have had a number of students and parents request we make for all courses this semester Pass/Fail (credit/no credit). This type of change could be detrimental to the financial well-being, academic success, and prospective employment of many of our students and is, therefore, not a viable option.
As Federal regulations currently stand, this change would also negatively impact students utilizing veteran education benefits or federal financial aid. In the case of VA benefits, credit/no credit courses are not eligible for payment by VA benefits when a no credit grade is earned.
In the case of federal financial aid, students with credit/no credit courses who fail to earn credit could jeopardize federal aid eligibility. These potential losses would come at a time when many recipients can least afford to lose it.
There would also be negative GPA ramifications for students who may, at some point, seek admission to graduate or professional school or prospective employment where part of the admission or hiring process is an assessment of undergraduate academic performance as measured by GPA. Miami coursework that has not factored into a student’s GPA would be interpreted as being of D- or better quality which gives no insight into a student’s mastery of that knowledge.
eLearning is still delivering remote support:
You can still sign up for a training session, talk with a consultant, and get individualized help through remote technology! Be sure to use these resources since we now are delivering instruction remotely for the remainder of the semester. https://www.miamioh.edu/ digital-learning/
COVID-19 Updates and Resources:
Remember that all resources related to COVID-19 are available at our one-stop web page: https://miamioh.edu/ coronavirus/index.html.
Love and Honor,
Jason Osborne
With one week of remote delivery of classes under our belt, the world keeps moving and we are trying very hard to stay one step ahead - or, more accurately, not more than one step behind. One of the many things that makes this such a deeply difficult time is because we do not always know what to expect. We all hope for a resolution to COVID-19, but of course none of us know when that will happen, what that will look like, or when we will be able to get back to business as usual.
Many good things continue to happen despite all this upheaval. One of those good things is the hiring of our next Dean of the Farmer School of Business, Dr. Jenny Darroch. The announcement is now public (see our announcement here: https://www.miamioh.edu/news/ top-stories/2020/03/new-fsb- dean.html). I know the Miami community will welcome her and will see FSB continue to amplify the strengths and national reputation under her leadership.
Topics:
- Warning for campus closure unlikely; prepare now
- Residence Halls Closing
- Why pass/fail grading (credit/no credit) is not something we are unilaterally doing as part of our COVID-19 response
- Personalized consultations with eLearning remote now
Faculty have requested that in the event of a travel ban or campus closure we provide sufficient warning for them to retrieve anything they might need from their offices. Please understand that if we are directed by the state or federal government to “shelter in place” or to close campus, we will likely have little notice. I strongly recommend that we all work now to retrieve anything you may need for the next several weeks from your office, lab, etc.
Dorm closure FYI:
From Dean of Students, Kimberly Moore, “In light of the statewide emergency declaration, the residence halls will now be closing Saturday, March 21, at 5 p.m.” This continues to be a concerted effort to get students to leave Oxford and get safely to their family homes, where possible. They are of course, working with students who may not be able to return home.
Pass/Fail (credit/no credit) for all courses this semester:
In light of the upheaval that COVID-19 has caused, we have had a number of students and parents request we make for all courses this semester Pass/Fail (credit/no credit). This type of change could be detrimental to the financial well-being, academic success, and prospective employment of many of our students and is, therefore, not a viable option.
As Federal regulations currently stand, this change would also negatively impact students utilizing veteran education benefits or federal financial aid. In the case of VA benefits, credit/no credit courses are not eligible for payment by VA benefits when a no credit grade is earned.
In the case of federal financial aid, students with credit/no credit courses who fail to earn credit could jeopardize federal aid eligibility. These potential losses would come at a time when many recipients can least afford to lose it.
There would also be negative GPA ramifications for students who may, at some point, seek admission to graduate or professional school or prospective employment where part of the admission or hiring process is an assessment of undergraduate academic performance as measured by GPA. Miami coursework that has not factored into a student’s GPA would be interpreted as being of D- or better quality which gives no insight into a student’s mastery of that knowledge.
eLearning is still delivering remote support:
You can still sign up for a training session, talk with a consultant, and get individualized help through remote technology! Be sure to use these resources since we now are delivering instruction remotely for the remainder of the semester. https://www.miamioh.edu/ digital-learning/
COVID-19 Updates and Resources:
Remember that all resources related to COVID-19 are available at our one-stop web page: https://miamioh.edu/ coronavirus/index.html.
Love and Honor,
Jason Osborne