Dean's Community Message

May 26, 2020

Dear College of Engineering Community,

I hope you had a relaxing Memorial Day and were able to escape from your screens and enjoy the long weekend. Today’s inspirational quote was submitted by Aishwarya Mallampati, a graduate student in computer science and engineering:

“Chaos in the world brings uneasiness, but it also allows the opportunity for creativity and growth.”
—Tom Barrett

This quote reminded me of the many ways in which the engineering community has stepped up during this unprecedented time. As we enter the summer, I continue to be impressed by the determination and strong will of our faculty and staff in the college. I encourage you to take the time to explore the great things our community is doing.

Here are today’s updates:

Centre County to Move to Green Phase

Although Gov. Tom Wolf has announced that Centre County will be moving into the green phase on Friday, May 29, please note that at this time there are no additional changes from the prior guidance provided by the University. The University’s task groups are continuing to develop phased plans for return to on-campus working, learning, and living for students and employees. Employees who are currently telecommuting, should continue to do so unless otherwise advised by their supervisor or unit leadership. The health and wellness of the Penn State community are top priority for both the University and the College of Engineering. As the phased plans for the return to campus progress, we will continue to share updates.

Undergraduate Grade Forgiveness Online Process

In an effort to support student academic recovery and success, the University has developed a grade forgiveness policy that allows undergraduate students who have successfully repeated a course and earned a higher grade to request that a D or F they earned in a previous attempt of the course be removed from their GPA calculation. College of Engineering students should first discuss this option with their academic adviser then can submit their request using the newly developed COE grade forgiveness workflow. Please note that alternative grading and grade forgiveness are not mutually exclusive. If a student was repeating a course this semester in which they had previously earned a D or F, and they did better in that course this semester, the student can select an alternative grade for that spring 2020 course and ALSO choose to request grade forgiveness for the earlier attempt, provided the request meets all the requirements outlined in the workflow.

Undergraduate Academic Integrity (AI) and Alternative Grading

On Friday, the University alternative grading committee released a decision that undergraduate students with AI violations WILL be able to utilize alternative grading for all spring 2020 courses. AI violations will continue to be reported to the Office of Student Conduct and maintained as a part of a student’s conduct record, and academic sanctions will be applied to determine the student’s original letter grade. Please refer to an email you received from Assistant Dean Masters on Saturday (5/23) for more details and reach out to Nita Woodbridge (nsw131@psu.edu) if you have questions about this change.

More Students Eligible for Move Out

The University announced on Friday that with Gov. Wolf’s announcement of additional Pennsylvania counties moving to the yellow phase over the next two weeks, students residing in those counties can now begin scheduling a move-out date from their on-campus residence halls. Eligible students will be sent an email inviting them to schedule a move-out date for their campus. More information can be found here.

Remote Teaching Tip #11 — Provide clear instructions for students

Since you won’t be meeting with students in person, it is important to write instructions for your assignments clearly and concisely and to include as much detail as possible about your expectations. Make sure technical needs are spelled out so that students know what will be needed to complete their work. For more tips about teaching online, contact the Office for Digital Learning.

Please continue to reach out to our response team at L-COE_CORONA_CRISIS_TEAM@engr.psu.edu if you have questions or concerns. Penn State updates are available on the University’s information site.

Be well!

Justin Schwartz
Harold and Inge Marcus Dean, College of Engineering