Update on Fall Semester Schedule, Aug. 13, 2020

To Our Student Community:

Many of you are probably making your final preparations for starting classes on Monday, August 24 and so are we! There are a few things you should know before you return:

• If any of your classes have been scheduled or switched to online-only as a result of the pandemic, you will not be charged online differential fees. Online-only classes traditionally have an online differential fee because of the costs associated with delivering them, but we recently removed that fee from courses that were not originally planned to be offered online during the fall 2020 semester.
• The planned transition to remote delivery via Zoom for all on-campus, in-person instruction after the Thanksgiving holiday break does not mean that the fall semester is ending early. Nor does it impact the start of spring semester. As of now, the plan is for the spring semester to start with in-person, on-campus classes in the same way that the fall semester will start.
• To help reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission, we have launched a new self-screening tool that you must complete daily before coming to campus or leaving your residence hall room. It is quick and easy to complete. You can link to the assessment from our homepage or at mnsu.edu/screening. Reminder: face coverings are also required on campus.
• You should be hearing from each of your professors in the next week or so, if you haven't already, about how to prepare for your classes and what classes will look like. If you are enrolled in any FlexSync courses, your professors will be asking if you prefer to be in-person or remote via Zoom. Your professors will use those preferences to establish a schedule of who will be in-person on which days and will communicate that back to you before the first day of class. If you have not heard from them by Wednesday, August 19, please reach out directly for more details.
• We are monitoring the ever-changing situation locally and are in regular contact with local and state health officials to discuss how the pandemic may be impacting our area and our campus. As information becomes available communication will be sent out, and the Return to Learn website will continue to be updated.
• We are doing our best to make sure that you have the best college experience possible this year and to deliver classes in the way you want them—but we recognize that there may be changes that are beyond our control. We have been planning for that and are prepared to support your learning needs no matter what happens.

If you have questions about this change, please email provost@mnsu.edu. We will try to back to you as soon as possible. Don't forget to visit Return to Learn for more information as well.

I look forward to seeing you again in a few weeks!

Sincerely,

Richard Davenport,
President