Plan for Post-Thanksgiving Transition to Remote Learning, August 6, 2020

To Our Student Community:

As we make final plans to start the new academic year in just three weeks, I want to let you know about a significant change we've made in an effort to minimize the potential spread of COVID-19 on campus.

All on-campus, in-person instruction will transition to remote, virtual face-to-face delivery via Zoom after the Thanksgiving holiday break. This change impacts your final week of classes (Nov. 30-Dec. 4) and your final exams (Dec. 7-Dec. 12) and includes all FlexSync courses and any required in-person experiences like science labs, etc. If you are attending classes on-campus and in-person this fall, following the Thanksgiving holiday break you will complete the fall semester remotely.

A few important notes:

This transition away from in-person meetings is not an early end to the fall semester. Students should plan to attend the final week of classes and complete final exams virtually.
Students who wish to remain in the residence halls after the Thanksgiving break may do so; residential rates will remain the same.
Students who do not want to remain in the residence halls following the Thanksgiving break may request a prorated refund.
The campus will remain open during the two weeks after Thanksgiving to accommodate students who choose to stay in their private Mankato residences or in the dorms.

Again, this change is an attempt to minimize the potential spread of COVID-19 following the Thanksgiving break. Public health officials tell us that mass travel during a pandemic, and particularly in late November at the traditional beginning of the typical flu season, raises significant concerns about the transmission of viruses. We want to do everything we can to reduce the risk to you as well as to our faculty and staff.

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 www.mnsu.edu/returntolearn for more information as well.

I look forward to seeing you again in August!

Sincerely,

Richard Davenport,
President