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At today's virtual town hall, Dean of Students Aaron Austin said that student fees will not be refunded. Provost Rick Muma said that tuition will not be refunding tuition and fees associated with that because faculty still have to be paid.
Muma reiterated that students will not be charged extra for the switch to online classes and students already enrolled for online classes will not be refunded for the online course fee.
If students fall ill with COVID-19, or any illness, they will be able to take an incomplete for a class and be able to finish that class at a later date.
The university has extended the drop date for classes due to switching to online. Muma said that these students will not receive refunds unless it's for an illness or other reasons beyond their control.
The drop date is now April 17.
The university is encouraging students to reach out to the office of financial aid for financial assistance. More about that here: https://thesunflower.com/50457/news/wsu-foundation-launches-covid-19-student-emergency-fund/
@WichitaStateSGA also approved a $10,000 emergency fund last night for students impacted by the pandemic. Story on that later today.
Muma is advising students to reach out to department chairs, deans and the provost office (in that order) if students have not yet heard from their professors about class instruction.
@WichitaStateSGA President Kitrina Miller is urging students to be patient with their professors in the transition to online classes.
The university is still issuing Chromebooks and personal hotspots for students who don’t have the technology or internet to complete their classes. That story is here: https://thesunflower.com/50141/news/wsu-purchases-150-mobile-hotspots-for-students-without-internet-access/
Carolyn Speer, manager of instruction design access, is also encouraging students to work on their assignments during off-peak hours (early morning or late night) if their personal internet cant keep up.
Muma said that students who are from out of town and went home will have Chromebooks mailed to them if they need that technology.
President Jay Golden going over commencement plans. A special commencement will be held in October. If students can’t attend that commencement they can also attend the December commencement ceremony. The university is also offering a virtual commencement in May.
That story is here: https://thesunflower.com/50476/news/may-commencement-will-be-a-virtual-reality/
The university will be developing its own website to hold the virtual commencement and will also include the regular speeches by the president and other members.
Golden said that the commencement ceremony in October may be a bit different than previous celebrations - especially when it comes to shaking hands.
@WSU_DoS said that the Office of Diversity and Inclusion is looking at ways to still be able to hold their own ceremonies, just not in person.
@PresidentWSU is now saying that decision of summer classes will be made soon. Fall semester is still starting “as normal” but they’re planning for if in-person instruction will be interrupted again.
Summer presession start in a month, according to Muma. So the decision of moving summer classes online will have to be made soon.
Logging off now because I have to attend another virtual meeting, but you can go back and watch the meeting here:
Everyone is ending their statements on the advice they would give to students for navigating classes during this time.
Everyone is ending their statements on the advice they would give to students for navigating classes during this time.
