| Dear WSE Undergraduate Students: We are writing to follow up on yesterday’s message from President Daniels about the university’s response to COVID-19, including that classes today through Friday have been canceled and that all courses, including WSE’s, will be delivered remotely beginning on March 23 and extending at least until April 12. The below items clarify our school’s expectations during this period: All deadlines, exams, and classes are canceled this week: Instructors may not hold any class meetings or exams today through Friday of this week. Deadlines that originally were set for those days will be postponed until after spring break. Exams that need to be postponed until after spring break due to class cancellations will be administered after that time, either as take-home exams or in an online format. Please be alert to communications from your instructors: Faculty are already sending out emails about cancellations and the rescheduling of classes, exams, and assignments, and we anticipate that there may some confusion as we all adapt to these abrupt changes. Your instructors need time to redesign their instructional strategies and will contact you about how their courses will be managed after they move online. Undergraduate students will not be permitted to be present in Johns Hopkins laboratory or research facilities during this period of remote teaching. It is expected that your online sessions after spring break will be held at their regularly scheduled meeting times: While the content of your class sessions may need to be altered, it is the policy of our school that routine contact with students through synchronous interaction over Zoom is the best way to maintain continuity during this period. Your instructor may choose to deliver some content asynchronously by posting pre-recorded lectures that are to be watched outside of normal class time. When this occurs, it is our expectation that instructors will use the designated class time for discussion, to answer questions, and engage in productive faculty-student interactions. We understand that this may be more challenging for students outside the U.S. Eastern Standard Time zone. We will provide support to help you with technologies associated with this transition: Most classes will be taught online using Zoom videoconferencing software. A website has been created to help students with Zoom that includes information about downloading the software and FAQs. We anticipate that students will also use Zoom to videoconference with other students while working on group projects and group assignments. We understand that access to on-line tools like Zoom may present challenges for some students. If you encounter problems with access to the Zoom technology contact the Zoom support team. If you run into financial issues related to accessing computer technology or internet bandwidth from home, please call, e-mail, or request a virtual appointment with a financial aid adviser at https://finaid.jhu.edu/contact/. Academic Advising: The Office of Undergraduate Academic Affairs/Engineering Advising is currently open and fully operational. Our WSE advisors will maintain a drop-in schedule for the rest of the week and expect to resume this schedule on Monday, March 23. During Spring Break Week, our professional Academic Advising staff will be available to work with students as needed. If you would like to speak with an advisor over the phone or to arrange a virtual appointment, please call the office main number at 410-516-7395 or email [email protected]. Please stay tuned for information about departmental advising for Fall 2020 registration. Thank you for your understanding and adaptability as we seek to meet the challenges presented by COVID-19. We appreciate your dedication to your studies and we will do our best to maintain the high quality of instruction during this period of remote instruction. If you require clarification regarding school or university policies related to remote teaching please email Michael Falk and/or Janet Weise. Sincerely, Michael L. Falk Vice Dean for Undergraduate Education |