Mason’s fourth annual Giving Day, Thursday, April 2, is normally an opportunity for every Patriot and friend to support their favorite cause or program at Mason.
With the extraordinary circumstances of the last few weeks, the effort has been completely reimagined and is now focused on a new purpose, providing urgent assistance to students in need, under the banner of Patriots Helping Patriots.
As George Mason University offices transitioned to a remote work environment in response to COVID-19, offices with significant walk-in traffic faced a difficult dilemma. How could they continue to provide excellent service, while protecting both the students and their frontline staff?
The Mason Student Services Center in SUB I provides one-stop assistance to an average of 200 students per day, and serves as the front-facing service area for the Registrar’s Office, the Office of Student Financial Aid and Student Accounts, among others.
Through quick and creative use of technology, such as Salesforce, the university’s constituent relationship management system, remote student service began March 17.
Dear Mason Nation,
With the extraordinary circumstances created by the coronavirus, including the transition to alternative virtual instruction, the university wants to ensure that all students have opportunities for success this semester. In recognition of that, the Faculty Senate met Tuesday and approved two motions to provide accommodations to grading policies for undergraduate students for the Spring 2020 semester:
PLEASE NOTE: The Office of the University Registrar will communicate with eligible students to their official Mason-issued e-mail address with information on how to select the new alternative grade mode for their classes. Information on the specific grading categories will also be provided.
For Graduate Students/Law School/Cohort Programs
Students, including undergraduates, enrolled in cohort sections or special programs will follow the decisions of their professional school or of the unit about which courses, if any, are eligible for the credit/non-credit option.
The Antonin Scalia Law School will separately determine the grading policies for its courses. Graduate programs may select specific graduate courses that are eligible for Credit/Non-Credit declaration by Wednesday, April 1.
For courses not selected, graduate students will be able to request a change in one or more of their courses to this new grading option. All requests will have to be submitted by May 11, and will be subject to their academic unit’s approval based on the following parameter: the student must provide a compelling reason why their academic success has been affected by the changes triggered by the coronavirus/ COVID-19.
We appreciate the broad engagement of the university community with the Faculty Senate on this issue over the past week. As faculty, student learning is our main objective. It is our hope that empowering students to make decisions about the grading categories that will be used to evaluate their work during this unique semester will reduce some of the stress associated with the transition to virtual learning.
Be well.
Shannon Davis
Chair, Faculty Senate
S. David Wu
Provost and Executive Vice President
Dear Mason Patriots,
Student Health Services (SHS) remains committed to supporting the health of students during this time of unprecedented university operational changes. Information in this email will help students understand how to care for their health if concerned about a potential exposure to coronavirus (COVID-19) or have symptoms of respiratory illness.
While the best way to help prevent the spread of illness is through keeping physical distance from others, remember to stay socially connected with friends and family through video chat, phone, apps, or other means during this time. Continue social distancing, take everyday precautions like washing hands to prevent the spread of illness, and stay informed about COVID-19 using credible sources, such as the main George Mason University coronavirus website, the local health department, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC).
If You Have Been Exposed to Coronavirus
If you have a fever (100.4°F/38°C or higher), cough, or shortness of breath, and think you have been exposed to coronavirus, call your primary healthcare provider for advice and guidance. Stay home, and call your provider before going to the clinic.
Follow the instructions of your healthcare provider or local health department. You may be asked to self-isolate or self-quarantine (stay home and avoid contact with others) and monitor your health. Most people who are mildly ill with COVID-19 are able to recover at home. The CDC has information on how to protect yourself and others if you are sick and ways to manage your symptoms at home: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/if-you-are-sick/index.html
If you have concerns that you have been exposed to COVID-19 but you do not have any symptoms, call your primary healthcare provider for guidance. Your healthcare provider can evaluate your risk and tell you precautions to take to protect your health and the health of others. This might include self-monitoring for development of symptoms for 14 days.
If you are a student and you were told by your healthcare provider or health department that you may have COVID-19 or may have been exposed to COVID-19, please complete a voluntary self-report form in our secure, online Patient Portal. This information goes directly to Student Health Services and SHS staff will follow-up with you if necessary during operating hours. If you are having symptoms, do not use this portal, please call.
Who to Call for Health Questions
If you are a Mason student and have returned to your permanent residence, call your local primary care provider. Your local healthcare provider will best understand the risks of coronavirus in your community and can help determine whether you need further evaluation or testing. They may tell you to manage your care from home. Most people who are mildly ill with COVID-19 are able to recover at home.
Students living on-campus or those living locally for whom Student Health Services is their primary care provider, can call Student Health (703-993-2831) during our open hours for guidance. After-hours, there is a nurse advice phone service available.
Students who do not have a local healthcare provider can call Student Health (703-993-2831) during open hours for guidance. You can also call a local urgent care or primary care clinic.
Call First, Do NOT Walk-In
Call before going to a doctors’ office or healthcare facility if you have symptoms of COVID-19. Calling ahead allows healthcare workers to take appropriate precautions to help reduce the spread of illness before your arrival.
You should not go to an emergency room unless it is an emergency, for example, you are having difficulty breathing. If you need to go to the emergency room, and you have symptoms and a known exposure, you must call ahead to ensure proper infection control protocols are in place before you arrive.
Emergency Symptoms of COVID-19
If you develop any of the following severe symptoms of COVID-19, get medical attention immediately. Call 911 and tell them you may have COVID-19 so they are able to take precautions. Some emergency warning signs include:
These are uncertain times and the situation continues to evolve. Our dedicated, compassionate team at Student Health Services is here to support our students. We believe that working together as a community, we will be able to successfully adapt, and come out stronger and more resilient than ever before.
Sincerely,
Lisa L. Park, MD, MPH
Executive Director, Student Health Services
Dear Patriots:
The university continues to monitor the coronavirus outbreak and take additional measures as appropriate. This is important as we focus our efforts around resuming the spring semester through alternative virtual instruction, supporting the small community of students who must remain on campus, and providing essential operations to support our mission.
As a result of our continuing focus on the safety of our community, the University will be closing our buildings to the general public for the foreseeable future. We also will be mandating telework for all faculty and staff except for those who need to work on campus to continue critical functions for the university as outlined below.
Building security and core functions
University buildings will be closed effective Wednesday March 25, except as otherwise provided. All exterior and interior doors will be locked. Faculty and staff will continue to have cardswipe and key access but must comply with the telework mandates outlined below.
Police and Safety Headquarters will remain open, with police patrolling the campus and facilities monitoring buildings. Southside Dining will provide grab and go dining service for those remaining on campus during hours listed here. Retail dining establishments with separate entrances will be allowed to remain open so long as they are complying with the Governor’s Executive Order limiting numbers of occupants and enforcing social distancing; more details are available here.
Mason library facilities, including Fenwick, will be closed starting Monday March 23. Library services will continue to operate, will expand virtual access as feasible, and will be available virtually to support faculty and students in accessing needed materials for online classes and assisting with other resources and services. For more details about library services and accompanying policy changes during this period, please see: https://library.gmu.edu/
SUB I will be closed to the public, but Student Health Services, the Mason Card Office, and the Cashier’s Office will be open on a limited access basis. In an effort to limit risk of infection, we ask students to call 703-993-2831 and speak with a nurse prior to coming in to Student Health Services. For more information, visit the Student Health Services page and click the Patient Notice link.
Faculty, staff, and students who wish to access the Mason Card Office should call 703-993-1004 to make an appointment. The Cashier’s Office will be accepting cash payments by appointment Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.; please call Bill Cunningham, Assistant Director, Cashier’s Office and Account Management, at 703-993-2498 to schedule an appointment. All check payments should be mailed to GMU Cashier’s Office, 4400 University Drive, MS 2E2, Fairfax, Virginia 22040.
The HUB will be closed to the public. Packages from USPS , UPS, FedEx and Amazon will be delivered to the Mail Center in the HUB. Individuals with a valid Mason ID will be able to access the HUB via the ground floor (basement level) door across from the Shenandoah parking deck, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Monday to Friday for mail and package pickup.
If faculty and staff need more information or have questions about card access please go to https://masonid.gmu.edu/access/ or contact the Card Access Security Office at 703-993-3127, or contact [email protected] or Key Control at [email protected] or 703-993-2823. If you need to request access to a locked building please review the list to determine the appropriate contact.
Telework mandate
The university is mandating that all employees who can work remotely should do so, except those who must report in person to carry out key university functions, such as critical research, teaching including online instruction, supporting students allowed to remain on campus, health care, and administrative and other obligations that cannot be conducted remotely.
Deans, directors, unit leaders and managers have the authority to identify those who must report in person, those who can work remotely, and those who may need limited, intermittent access. They should share that guidance with their faculty and staff. Those who need access, including on a limited basis, to perform key university functions should coordinate with co-workers to allow for social distancing and of course should continue to practice careful hand hygiene.
Employees shifting to telework should return to campus before Wednesday, March 25 to collect whatever items they may need to work remotely for the remainder of the semester. Please practice social distancing during this time; you may need to schedule individual time in your department for employees to retrieve belongings.
If you have questions about leave, your ability to do your job remotely or your current job duties, please contact your supervisor and/or Employee Relations. If you have questions about Virginia Public Health Emergency Leave, please review the PHEL guidance and/or contact the HR Benefits Team.
Notification of confirmed cases in our community
We want to let you know about another confirmed coronavirus case associated with our campus. On March 14, we received notice from a student regarding their positive diagnosis of coronavirus. The public health department has since confirmed that case and has informed us that since the student had not been on campus since Feb. 25, to include during the infectious period, there is no risk to the campus community from this case.
As I stated in my last message on Friday, we do not anticipate sending messages about coronavirus testing or positive cases each time we learn of a new confirmed case associated with our university. Instead, please visit the university’s confirmed coronavirus cases webpage, which will be updated at 2 p.m. daily if there is new information to share.
Please continue to monitor the Virginia Department of Health for the latest information about the virus in Virginia and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for national and worldwide updates, and George Mason’s coronavirus website for the latest Mason information.
Remember to practice social distancing, wash your hands frequently for at least 20 seconds, take time to get outdoors, and get sufficient rest. We remain focused on our core education and research missions along with our commitment to keep our community safe, and thank you all for your cooperation toward those ends.
Sincerely,
Anne Holton
Interim President
Dear Patriots,
It is an understatement to say that we are living in extraordinary times. When the academic year began, few of us could have imagined that we would be preparing to finish the spring semester teaching our courses online. This is a new reality for all of us, and while we might not have planned on this path, we are taking it and stepping boldly into this new frontier.
At the same time, the outbreak from the coronavirus is intensifying with each day. We continue to monitor developments and respond in a way that protects our community and minimizes widespread exposure.
Sadly, I learned today as did the rest of you that one of our students has tested positive. Our prayers are with that student for a speedy recovery, and we are doing everything we can to provide support and assistance with our partners in the department of health.
We expect more of our community will test positive for COVID-19 in the coming days and weeks. Rather than send out messages every time we learn of a case, I have asked our communications team to add a link to the university’s coronavirus web page, listing the number of cases. This is in line with how our peers at other universities are reporting these cases.
Events cancelled through the end of the semester
The university has decided to extend the cancellation of all events through May 18. We made this decision after considering the Centers for Disease Control’s guidance and recommendations from a working group that included faculty, staff and deans.
We will reevaluate the situation in April and share more details about how this affects future events going forward.
Commencement postponed indefinitely
We have decided to postpone Commencement and our degree celebrations indefinitely. This was among the most difficult decisions we have had to make. These are time-honored traditions that students and their families look forward to, and we did not make this decision lightly. Our hope is to either reschedule at a later date, and/or to find a creative way to celebrate our students online. We will be seeking input from our graduating students on how they would like to be celebrated during these unprecedented times. We’ll be in touch soon on this, as well.
Study abroad cancelled for summer session
Because of the U.S. Department of State Travel advisory elevation to level 4, it is not possible to run our summer abroad faculty-led programs this year. Many of our peer institutions have also cancelled their summer programs. I know this is a disappointment to our dedicated faculty and staff and to the nearly 500 students who participate in these programs each summer, but it is the right thing to do for the health and safety of our community.
Resuming classes on Monday, March 23
I know many of you are eager to resume your studies and coursework. Our hard-working faculty, with the excellent support of the Provost’s office and the Stearns Center and others across the university, are standing up about 5,500 classes in a virtual alternative format to ensure that we can maintain our instructional continuity. That’s a remarkable accomplishment. I am proud of the collaborative spirit I have seen within and among our departments, schools and colleges.
I also want to thank our faculty and staff for their flexibility and creativity. Whether you’ve found new ways to do your job remotely or you’ve taken on entirely new responsibilities, we appreciate your adaptability during this time.
Please know that it is reasonable to expect some bumps along the way, particularly this first week. Patience and persistence will be key, as will collaboration and kindness. We will get through this together. Some students and faculty are new to the online environment, and we will all be learning as we go. Our technology leaders are in frequent contact with Cisco, Blackboard and Microsoft to ensure increased capacity. However, because many schools and businesses are looking to these same vendors for support, there may be technology glitches. Faculty are encouraged to make back up plans for course instruction or consider asynchronous class structures.
Please contact the ITS Support Center in the event of a technology problem so it can be monitored and shared, and monitor the ITS Alert page. If you have not already registered for the ITS Alert listserv, please take a moment to subscribe so you can be made aware of issues as they arise.
Students are advised to visit https://learningservices.gmu.edu/keeplearning/ for resources, tips and helpful advice. I also encourage you to watch this video with five tips for online learning success from Associate Professor Melissa Broeckelman-Post.
The Stearns Center’s Instructional Continuity page has valuable resources for faculty, as does as does ITS’s Working Remotely: A Guide to Maintaining Continuity.
We know this transition is not seamless, nor is it easy, but it is the path forward to completing our educational goals this semester, and I have the full confidence in our university community that we will succeed.
Grading
I know many of you, students and faculty alike, have questions regarding grading structures in light of the instructional transition. This is a faculty governance question. Once the Faculty Senate has the opportunity to review options, we will communicate more details to you about this. We are committed to a successful semester in this new environment.
Financial resources for students
We know that the alternative instruction format and other potentially challenges may cause additional financial burdens. Both the Stay Mason Student Support Fund and the Student Emergency Assistance Fund are taking applications from students to provide emergency relief related to this new environment. University Life also has other resources for health and well-being during this time.
Refunds for housing, dining and parking
As many of you know, we are closing our residence halls to all but those students with extraordinary circumstances. This is an important step to prevent the spread of the virus.
Many of you have asked about refunds. The university is committed to refunding money to students for housing, dining and parking. We are working out the details and will get more information to you soon.
Taking care of yourself
All of this can be overwhelming, and I know we are all doing our best to stay positive and focused on what matters most. Your studies can be a wonderful distraction from the headlines, and I urge everyone to take care of themselves and each other. Rest. Eat healthful meals. Get outside. Find time for family and friends – whether it be in small groups practicing social distancing, or using online tools that help keep us together.
I appreciate everyone’s flexibility and creativity to make the best of this changing situation. I am proud to be a part of Mason Nation, and I know you are too.
Sincerely,
Anne Holton
Interim President
Dear Mason Patriots,
On the evening of March 19, George Mason University was made aware that a student who attended classes in Arlington tested positive for coronavirus and is receiving treatment at a local hospital. While this student is undergoing treatment, please be considerate of the student’s privacy and wellbeing. We all wish the student a quick recovery and the university is working to provide the student with assistance and support.
An investigation is being conducted by the local health department to determine if anyone else within our community should take additional precautions such as self-isolation or quarantine. The student does not reside on campus, and to our knowledge, the last time that this student was on the Arlington campus was on March 4.
The university has taken aggressive steps to prevent the spread of coronavirus within the Mason community by moving classes to an online format, cancelling events, and promoting telework whenever possible. Given these precautions and what we know about the situation, the risk of exposure to other students, faculty, and staff who visited the Arlington campus remains low.
We encourage anyone that has concerns about potential exposure to await official guidance from the health department or university before taking additional precautions. Individuals who were at risk of exposure will be contacted directly and provided specific guidance. The actions the university is taking are consistent with recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Virginia Department of Health guidelines, but we understand that this situation may cause some anxiety in our community.
If you have individual concerns about the university’s response, please contact [email protected]. At this time, we continue to stress the importance of general precautions; wash your hands, practice good hygiene, monitor yourself for illnesses, remain home if you are sick, and continue to practice social distancing. If you feel ill or have concerns about your health, please contact your healthcare provider.
For more information about coronavirus, please visit www.gmu.edu/coronavirus.
David Farris, PhD
Executive Director, Safety & Emergency Management
Lisa Park, MD, MPH
Executive Director, Student Health Services
Mail Services has provided the following information:
With questions, contact Terry Metro at [email protected].
Dear Mason Patriot,
Our top priority remains the health and safety of you, our students. We know you have questions and concerns and we thank you for your continued patience as we have created a plan about residency and move out.
In order to minimize the risks to students and in light of the university’s decision to extend alternative virtual instruction for the remainder of the semester, we will begin to close the residence halls for the semester to all but those with exceptional circumstances. We will complete the process outlined below by 9 p.m. on Wednesday, March 25.
Students who need to stay past Wednesday, March 25, will be required to show exceptional circumstances. Based on the guidance we’ve received, we know that by greatly reducing the number of students in residence, we will reduce risk and we can more easily manage social distancing and health concerns that may emerge.
The Mason Housing Portal will make request for exemption forms available starting Wednesday March 18. Please note: all students seeking an exemption must file a new request form.
Approvals will be granted within 24-48 hours and will be granted in exceptional circumstances where it is impossible for residents to return home. Examples include:
We know we can count on students to comply with these rules as well as all those in the student code of conduct which will continue to apply during this time.
Formal Moving Out Period
Beginning the week of April 13, we anticipate creating a staggered move-out schedule through the end of the semester. This will allow for appropriate social distancing for a safe move-out process. More specific details will come out once we have more information. We regret that requests to move out in the meanwhile cannot be accommodated.
At this time, we are exploring ways to refund students not returning. We realize this action prompts several questions and concerns and we will be following up with more communication soon to address this. Please continue to check your Mason email.
We thank you for your patience while we work together to navigate the far-reaching impacts of COVID-19. You are in our thoughts and we wish you nothing but the best during this time. We are so proud of our resilient Mason Nation and thank you for your patience, resilience and cooperation.
Sincerely,
