SUBJECT: New Student Options for Winter 2020

Dear Dearborn Undergraduate and Graduate Students:

We hope you are staying healthy, safe and well as we enter the final month of studies for the Winter 2020 semester. The past two weeks have not been what any of us expected(!), and we thank you for your patience, courage and resilience in these tricky times. We assure you that the entire faculty and staff of the university are working nonstop with two goals in mind: to help you through this, and to help you continue successfully on your educational path.

To assist with both these goals, we write to announce two options that our campus will provide students in light of the ongoing COVID-19 emergency. 

First, owing to an overwhelmingly positive faculty vote on the matter, you will be given the option to convert some or all of your Winter 2020 courses to a Pass/Fail grading mode. Before making the decision to switch a 2020 Winter-term course to the Pass/Fail mode, however, you are strongly encouraged to speak with an academic advisor or faculty advisor. In order to switch a course to the Pass/Fail mode, you must submit a Pass/Fail Request Form to the Office of the Registrar by 11:59 p.m. EST on Wednesday, April 8. The option will not be available after that time.

The second opportunity is an extension of the selective drop period to Wednesday, April 8th as well. Given the significant changes to operations and remote teaching at the very end of the selective drop period, you may need the additional time to properly determine if you should withdraw from some courses. You will now have the ability to submit add/drop forms directly to the Office of the Registrar ([email protected]) by the Wednesday, April 8th deadline. Please note that the selective drop of a course does not result in the refund of the tuition assessed for that course.

Finally, a website titled “Course Options Pertinent to the Winter 2020 Semester” details information about the Pass/Fail and selective drop extension options. Please do check this over and consider its guidance as you think about these options and discuss them with your academic advisor.

These opportunities are endorsed strongly by us all, and we hope they will assist you in completing the term in as positive and productive fashion as possible. If you have any questions, please direct them to your college’s advising office.

With our best wishes, and stay strong!!

Susan E. Alcock, Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs

Raju Balakrishnan, Dean, College of Business  

Anthony England, Dean, College of Engineering and Computer Science 

Martin Hershock, Dean, College of Arts, Sciences, and Letters 

Ann Lampkin-Williams, Dean, College of Education, Health, and Human Services