Dear Campus Community:
We are busy planning for the fall 2020 semester, along with working on the “Dialogues on Diversity” series. Below are three important information items:
Revised Commencement 2020 Video. More than 100 additional photos were submitted by 2020 graduates, which means more than half of the 2020 seniors now have individual photos included in the final video, which can be viewed at www.fredonia.edu/2020.
Fall 2020. Members of the campus, including faculty, staff, students, and administrators, have been working diligently on a plan for safely reopening for fall 2020. A summary of that plan was submitted to SUNY on Friday, June 5 for review and comment. This week the Governor’s Office, in conjunction with SUNY, will be releasing guidelines on reopening campuses for the fall semester. As soon as we confirm our plan conforms to these guidelines, it will be made available to you.
I realize some SUNY campuses have already placed their summary plans on their website, but these are just early drafts and are likely to change once the guidelines are released. We only want to release one plan, the FINAL plan, to avoid the confusion associated with releasing multiple copies. Here are a few of the key elements in our plan that are likely to remain unchanged (and please remember, the Governor has the final say regarding in-person classes):
- Classes begin Monday, August 24. Move-in date depends upon guidelines.
- No breaks during the fall semester.
- Students return home on Friday, November 20 for Thanksgiving week. The last week of classes (Nov. 30-Dec. 4) completed remotely. Last day of “remote” finals Friday, December 11.
- More “distance education” classes taught than normal, but the majority still in-person.
- Activity classes, such as those offered in our Performing Arts programs and in the Sciences, primarily taught in-person, but with some adjustments.
- Facial coverings required in all campus buildings and for in-person classes, unless the curriculum dictates otherwise (e.g.—Music).
These are just a few of the many key decisions contained in the Summary Report. I look forward to sharing the full content of this excellent report with you as soon as possible.
CARES Emergency Grants for Students. Last Friday the funds generated by the federal CARES Act (part of the federal stimulus package) arrived on campus. These funds will be distributed directly to students who have been financially impacted by COVID-19, per federal guidelines. There will be a total of three distributions over the next 12 months: Summer grants, Fall grants, and Spring grants. The link to the application for Summer grants was forwarded to students last week, and is repeated here: CARES Emergency Grant.
In order to qualify for one of these federal grants, students “must have been enrolled in a credit-bearing course(s) and were eligible to receive Title IV aid for Spring 2020.” All requests will be considered; however, funding constraints may limit the number and size of awards. Per federal guidelines, priority will be given to high-need students with limited available resources.
CARES Emergency Grant requests submitted by Monday, June 22nd will receive full consideration. Any requests submitted after June 22nd will be processed only if funds remain. Please submit requests by no later than Monday, June 22.
Have a great week, and please stay safe.
Sincerely,
Dennis L. Hefner, Ph.D.
Interim President