The Missouri S&T Incident Command Team sent the following update to the campus community on Sunday, March 15, 2020.

Dear Missouri S&T Students, Faculty and Staff,

As we quickly transition to online instruction and prepare for many students to depart campus, we are also developing further guidance related to several issues that affect many of you. Currently, there are no confirmed cases of COVID-19 associated with Missouri S&T.

Here is what we are doing to help make the transition as smooth as possible for everyone involved. Please read this information carefully.

Student housing arrangements

Students, your well-being is our top priority. We know this situation has created a tremendous disruption to your learning experience, and we will do all in our power to ensure you complete this semester and, for those scheduled to graduate in May, to graduate on time.

Students living in our residence halls, fraternities and sororities, and other university-approved housing who are able to return home to their permanent residence should do so to complete their coursework remotely. Residential Life and Fraternity and Sorority Life have already communicated detailed instructions to all affected residents.

We recognize that some students may be unable to return to their permanent residence for various reasons and will need to stay in their residence halls. We also realize that some students may be unable to access online classes from their home, and that some may need to stay in Rolla for other reasons. We ask students to use good judgment in deciding what is best for them, their families and their communities. Our residence halls will remain open for those students who choose to stay in Rolla for the remainder of the semester, or even for part of the semester. The Residential Life staff will work with you should you decide to depart for your permanent residence at any time during the semester.

Students who live in fraternity or sorority chapters may continue to stay in those chapter houses. For students whose fraternity or sorority is closing for the remainder of the semester, accommodations will be made to live in Thomas Jefferson Residence Hall. Any students living in a fraternity or sorority and wishing to move into TJ should contact Residential Life via email (reslife@mst.edu) no later than this Friday, March 20.

Students who choose to live in our residence halls will continue to have access to food service through their dining plan, although hours and choices may be reduced, depending on occupancy.

Refund policy

We are still developing refund policies for our students and will communicate the details as soon as a policy is formalized. We anticipate that will occur this week.

Remote work arrangements

As UM System President Mun Choi indicated in his message Friday, March 13, our campus, and all UM System universities, will remain open to ensure that students who need access to dining and housing, library resources, or broadband are accommodated. Although library hours will be reduced and facilities like the S&T Fitness Center and Student Rec Center will be closed for the remainder of the semester, our intent is to continue operations. All faculty and staff should plan to report to work in-person, unless there is already an arrangement in place for remote staff or faculty.

We will continue to evaluate the situation and prepare for the possibility of remote work, should the situation require it. The Incident Command Team is developing further guidance for remote work. For now, anyone with questions about remote work should consult this web page on flexible work arrangements.

For further updates

As you can imagine, we will have much more information to communicate in the coming weeks to our campus community. To avoid flooding your inbox with lengthy email messages, we are continuously posting new information on our website, coronavirus.mst.edu. Please check that site often for updates.

Finally, we want to reiterate Chancellor Dehghani’s sentiments from his recent message to campus. We will get through this by working together, looking out for one another, and treating each other with kindness and empathy. Our Miner community is strong and resilient, but all of us are being tested at this time. Please remember to check in on loved ones and friends and to take care of yourselves.

Sincerely,

The Incident Command Team Leaders
 

Dr. Dennis Goodman, Director of Student Health

Ms. Cuba Plain, Interim Vice Chancellor of Finance and Operations

Dr. Stephen Roberts, Interim Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs

Dr. Debra Robinson, Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs