Monday, March 30, 2020 10 a.m.

We Are Here to Help You Succeed

Dear Golden Flashes,

We hope that you were able to relax a bit during the spring break week, but also that you were able to get organized and prepared for the next five weeks of Spring 2020. This is an unprecedented moment in our history, and we appreciate your understanding and flexibility as we navigate these unchartered waters together.

We know that many of you are dealing with unplanned and stressful changes to your living arrangements, many of you with the loss of work, and that all of you continue to worry about your personal health and the health of those you love. In addition, many of you are coping with instruction and assessment delivered in a format that you did not choose, taught by faculty who were not expecting to deliver instruction in a remote manner, and that this has added to your stress.

As we re-engage into what will be our new normal to complete the semester, we want to make sure you are taking care of yourself. We know you’ve been given guidance on keeping COVID-19 at bay to protect yourself and others (practice social distancing, wash your hands, cover sneezes and coughs), and we definitely encourage you to do that. We also want to make sure you are taking care of your emotional well-being. Visit Kent State of Wellness for further support.

Your new normal of instruction may feel a bit overwhelming, with seemingly constant demands for connectivity and engagement. Certainly, the switch to remote teaching and learning has been challenging for some of you. Just before spring break, we sent you an email that explained options for Pass/Fail and late withdrawal decisions to help you proceed with as little impact to your GPA as possible. Please review the details about these options. Prior to making decisions about these options, we encourage you to carefully read through all the options and consult with your advisors and faculty to fully understand possible implications of your decisions.

Some of you may have decided to withdraw from a course after the President's March 10 announcement regarding the suspension of face-to-face classes and the move to remote instruction. Given the new grading policies, you may now wish you had not made that decision. If this is the case, we are providing you the option to re-enroll until Wednesday, April 1, at 11:59 p.m. The procedure is outlined on the coronavirus grading page.

Despite the challenges the semester poses, please stick with it! We are continually amazed by the resilience of our students. Each of you has what it takes to be successful and to weather this period of uncertainty. Keep up with your coursework so that you are making good progress toward your degree. Reach out for help if you need it. Reach out and support your classmates. Use this time to consult with your advisor and campus resources to decide how you want to work through this, and go to https://www.kent.edu/keeponlearning for more support.

You can do this. And we will be here to support you as Flashes Take Care of Flashes.

All our best,

Melody Tankersley, Ph.D.
Interim Senior Vice President and Provost

Lamar R. Hylton, Ph. D.
Interim Vice President for Student Affairs