Official University Messages

Apr 10, 2020

Apr 9, 2020

Dear faculty, staff and students,

In light of the continuing uncertainty about our ability to conduct programming safely on our Oxford and regional campuses due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the University of Mississippi is canceling all in-person on-campus summer camps, conferences, events and other experiences through Aug. 1, 2020. This includes all academic and athletics programs on the Oxford, Tupelo, Southaven, Booneville and Grenada campuses.

Online or remote experiences will be offered where possible. Further details will be forthcoming from programs that can offer virtual experiences. Individuals who registered previously for canceled programs will receive direct communications from those programs.

While this was a difficult decision, this action is necessary to uphold our commitment to the safety, health and well-being of our campus community. We recognize that this decision presents disruptions and challenges for students, families, faculty and staff.

We also know that these camps held many benefits for our camp participants, their families and our university units. We are encouraging all units to think about how they might offer a virtual or alternative experience for students that might help to accomplish some of these important objectives.

We appreciate your continued patience and support as we implement the necessary operational and logistical adjustments during this trying time and look forward to the time when we can again convene on our campuses.

Sincerely,

Noel Wilkin
Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs

Mar 27, 2020

Dear faculty, staff and students,

With registration for upcoming academic terms scheduled to start Monday, I want to share several important academic updates with our university community about the current term and future terms.

SUMMER 2020

All Summer terms – including May, First Summer, Second Summer, Full Summer and August – will be delivered remotely through online or alternative methods. Courses available during registration for those terms will be limited to courses that are amenable to online or alternative delivery methods. This change will take effect at the Oxford and all regional campuses.

FALL 2020

Registration options for the Fall 2020 semester have not changed at this time. Any future changes to that plan will depend on how the public health emergency unfolds over the coming months. If we are forced to shift to remote course delivery, some courses could be affected. University leadership will notify you if any change is required for Fall 2020.

GRADING POLICY FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS

Chancellor Boyce approved a pair of recommendations from the Council of Academic Administrators as follows:

• Graduate students will be granted the same accommodations as undergraduate students in light of the suspension of in-person instruction in response to the coronavirus pandemic. These changes will give graduate students the option to choose to change a grade of C or better to a Z grade, or to change a C- or D to a P, or Passing, grade. All graduate students should explore whether exercising these options could affect their financial aid awards or future professional opportunities.
• A mandatory pass/fail grading system will be applied to all JD and LLM Spring 2020 courses.

GRADUATE COUNCIL PASSES OPTIONS ON STANDARDIZED TEST SCORES

Due to the COVID-19 emergency and difficulties for potential applicants in sitting for standardized tests, the Graduate School will allow programs that require a standardized test as part of the application for admission to suspend the requirement for Summer 2020 and Fall 2020 admissions. Programs that opt to do so cannot use the standardized test as a requirement for admission or in their admissions decisions during the COVID-19 crisis and they cannot deny anyone admission based on performance on the test. An individual previously denied admission to such programs for the Summer 2020 and/or Fall 2020 terms based on their score on the standardized test can request re-review of their application.

Programs wanting to waive the standardized test requirement must submit a written request with justification to the Graduate School (by email to askluck@olemiss.edu) from the GPC, with approval indicated in the email from the department chair (if applicable) and line dean. The request should mention the application deadline, the test to be waived and the status of applications (such as whether any applicants have already been denied based on test score). The Graduate Dean will decide whether to approve the request and notify the GPC. Programs that are approved to suspend a standardized test requirement must publish information about the change in application procedures on their program website.

I am appreciative of the careful deliberation and quick action taken by the committees on these matters to ensure that we are supporting our students during this difficult time.

Noel Wilkin
Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs

Mar 19, 2020

Dear students, faculty, staff and friends of the University of Mississippi,

This message offers a high-level overview of how we will approach several key matters for the remainder of this academic year.

First, I appreciate the tremendous efforts to move instruction online in such a short period of time to maximize social distancing. The university will deliver all course content online or via other remote methods for the remainder of the Spring 2020 semester. While this action is necessary, I’m particularly saddened by this abrupt and unexpected ending to the campus experience for our seniors as they prepare to embark on their lives after college. In light of the unprecedented challenges and difficult decisions at the local, state, national and global levels because of the COVID-19 pandemic, we came to this conclusion in keeping with the university’s highest priority of safeguarding the health and well-being of the university community.
[Read more…] about Important Update About Spring 2020 Semester – March 19, 2020

Mar 15, 2020

Employee Health Services is committed to serving our faculty and staff and will continue to operate with normal business hours. We are taking extra precautions based on recommendations from the CDC and Mississippi State Department of Health regarding COVID-19 and have made the following changes to our appointments.

[Read more…] about University Health Services Update to Faculty and Staff – March 15, 2020