Friday, March 27, 2020

We made it! Thank you for your efforts to get us through the first week of online/alternate instruction, and, for most employees, the first full week of teleworking. Students, you adapted and put forth a dedicated, optimistic effort to make your new way of learning successful, and we know it wasn’t always easy. Faculty, you pivoted, you recreated and refreshed your plans, and you did everything in your power to offer your students a smooth transition to this very different time. Our staff members continued to be committed to supporting our students and employees in every possible way, including creating some innovative solutions to solve new challenges. We hope all of you will get a chance to take a break this weekend – while implementing social distancing guidelines and following preventive recommendations, of course.
 
Gov. Cooper issued a stay-at-home order shortly ago, which will take effect at 5 p.m. on Monday. On Monday, the university will share guidance on what this may mean for employees and for students who are housed on campus.
 
Employees: Earlier today, HR issued a memo to address special faculty and staff work and leave provisions for April 1-April 30. You can see that memo here.
 
On the academic front, an update on withdrawals: Graduate and undergraduate students now have until April 6 to withdraw from any course. The previous deadline was March 30. Those withdrawals will be treated as withdrawals for extenuating circumstances per the UNCW catalog. After April 6, students seeking withdrawals should contact their academic advisor. The OAP withdrawal date remains March 31. Please visit this page for a summary of academic adjustments, including new information regarding temporary Graduate School policy adjustments.
 
We expect to have an announcement next week regarding possible Pass/Fail designations.
 
Commencement: We do not yet have any updates on the plans being developed for commencement after last week’s announcement, but we will share information as soon as it is available. Information was shared yesterday re. spring graduates’ regalia; you can read that message here.
 
Communications: Any non-emergency updates that become available after business hours, including during weekends, will be issued via campus email and shared to other communication channels upon the resumption of business hours. UNCW will continue to provide emergency notifications when there is an immediate on-campus threat to the health or safety of students or employees, but we urge all employees and students (and their families) to register for emergency alerts from New Hanover County by visiting this page (under “Stay Informed”).
 
Please be smart to stay safe, Seahawks. Thank you for your continued attention.