Office of the AUSG President Angela Chen

Excited to have been able to plan this with AU Office of Campus Life. In 30 minutes AU Admin will be live to discuss the new Title IX regulations and answering student questions!

Updates from Comptroller Bobby!

Today at 4:30 the OCL will be hosting another webinar for students with questions! If you have any questions about summer classes or graduation, this would be a great opportunity to ask!

Hi all! The Provost announced today that from April 1st to April 27th (the last day of classes), students will be able to declare one, some, or all of their courses pass/fail! Thank you to Eric Perless, Jeremy Ward and the Undergraduate Senate, and many others for your leadership on this issue. I especially want to thank all 611 students who filled out my form. I believe that it was those thoughtful responses that guided administrators to this decision. Reading your responses, hearing about the struggles that COVID-19 has unfairly brought upon you all, I have never wanted administrators to do something to help students more. I’m so grateful we were able to get this result together.

The work isn’t done. AUSG and the Executive Board is still working fervently to support and serve students during this difficult time. We spent $25,000 this past week helping students ship belongings home. More updates to come soon, but I wanted to take the time to celebrate this win.

I'm here, and I'm listening. A couple of updates:

1. Tomorrow is the last day to pick up a $100 UPS Shipping Voucher at the campus UPS store.

2. For all students, including those living off-campus, tomorrow is the last day where breakfast, lunch, and dinner will be served free of cost in MGC.

3. I've heard from many students that have moved back to different time zones that it's unrealistic for them to wake up at 5 a.m., or even 3 a.m., for 8 a.m. courses. I voiced that concern on the webinar, and Dean Jessica Waters noted that the administration has urged all professors and faculty to practice asynchronous learning, allowing students to complete work at a time that works for them. If your professor is conducting online lectures, they should be uploading them online afters. If your professor is still giving you difficulties regarding attending online lecture when you are in a different time zone, reach out to your Dean or Associate Deans.

4. For seniors: a decision has not yet been made regarding Commencement. Administrators truly want this event to happen for students, and they know this is such an important life event for our graduating class.

5. On the topic of graduation, I had a call with the Graduate Leadership Council President today. We talked about issues facing both communities including: Pass/Fail, refunds, and Commencement. The Graduate Leadership Council is penning a letter to the university requesting that commencement not be held online. I will be signing on to that letter as AUSG President.

6. The topic on everyone's minds: Pass/Fail. I brought it up again and voiced my strong support during the webinar on Thursday, and Dean Jessica Waters stated they were still making a decision. I've done everything I can to emphasize how strongly the student body, and myself, believe the policy ought to be changed. I would greatly appreciate if everyone would fill out this survey so I can share this info with the university.

7. Addressing questions that were submitted to me:
-Summer courses will definitely be happening, TBD whether they will be online or in person
-If you can not make it back to campus by tomorrow, rest assured your items will not be thrown out.
-As for finals week, as of right now exams are to be conducted at their scheduled time. If you anticipate there to be a conflict, reach out to your faculty member. Again, you shouldn't have to take a final at 3 a.m. for an 8 a.m. Ask them to make changes for you, and if they are being insistent upon not accommodating for your time zone, reach out to your school's academic leadership.

Pass/Fail Survey

I'm gonna be on a webinar today at 4:30. I've communicated my support for extending the pass/fail deadline, and was told they are still making a decision. If you're interested in voicing your support for extending the pass/fail deadline, Deputy Provost Mary Clark is also going to be on the webinar!

register.gotowebinar.com

The webinar today has been cancelled. Will have more info soon about when the rescheduled seminar will be!

I'm going to be on a Webinar with several university administrators today at 4 pm answering questions. There will be opportunity for students to directly ask questions through the webinar, but if anyone is unable to make it for any reason please send me your questions via this google doc and I will either ask during the Webinar or right after. Link to register: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/1025442333041190667?fbclid=IwAR2N9u2eBTcvg9FMIsPIrlB3D4orA615eZwdq2kVT9cvlVvr322W4ehlM5k

Webinar Questions

Hope everyone is staying healthy and safe. We may be transitioning to online classes, but as a reminder I am still here as a resource always. A couple of updates:

1) Many students have reached out to me about professors being more lenient during this stressful time. Provost Dan Myers has let me know he will be reminding all faculty tomorrow to practice leniency on deadlines and extensions as students move back home. He is also implementing other policies to maximize flexibility for students, including extending the deadline to withdraw from a course.

2) Exec board is planning to use the remainder of the 2019-2020 AUSG budgets to offset costs of relocation due to COVID-19. We’re meeting with the RHA President tomorrow and our university advisor on Tuesday to discuss best use of our funds.

As always, reach out with any questions or concerns.

If you’re unable to move out by March 23rd, please fill out this form to request a housing extension.

American University Petition to Remain in Campus Housing Qualtrics sophisticated online survey software solutions make creating online surveys easy. Learn more about Research Suite and get a free account today.

As many of you may have seen, AU is moving to online instruction until April 3rd. As with any policy, I know this could cause potential difficulties for students. I’ll be back in D.C. on Sunday, and happy to listen to concerns that I can echo to university administrators. Please reach out with any concerns.