Latest COVID-19 News

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Written and Oral Defenses and Graduate Committee Meetings – General Guidance

Appropriate adjustments may be necessary for students or faculty who are at risk for developing severe illnesses (or caring for those at such risk) and those with poor internet service. If campus guidance requires face coverings in classrooms, this should be followed for committee meetings and/or written examinations that may be conducted with multiple students

Extensions

The Graduate School’s existing extension process should be used to request an extension for any student who needs to extend their time to degree due to disruptions in their lives and programs related to COVID-19. Extensions related to COVID-19 will be granted liberally. Extension requests to allow an additional semester of eligibility for a tuition

Food and Other Support Resources

We recognize that there are members of our community who are food insecure. The following resources are available to assist. The MU Tiger Pantry is open Loaves & Fishes Soup Kitchen also provides meals for individuals in need. Individuals experiencing financial difficulty, family issues, housing insecurity, etc.: Students’ situations are often very unique in terms

Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) II Grants

Emergency financial aid grants from the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) II are now available to assist graduate students with exceptional need for educational costs and other emergency costs that arise due to coronavirus. As a graduate degree-seeking student you may be eligible to apply for emergency funding. The eligibility criteria are outlined on

Electronic Signatures for Graduate School Forms

The Graduate School accepts electronic signatures on all forms. The preferred way is to sign with an e-signature that has been configured using Adobe. This Creating and Using a Digital Signature provides guidance though that process. Another option is for the individuals signing to insert their signatures as an image on the form. Lastly, the Graduate

Information for Virtual Written and Oral Defenses and Graduate Committee Meetings

• Remote written examinations and Zoom defenses and committee meetings should be prioritized (see Zoom Defense Tips) • For some disciplines (particularly in the Arts), it is essential for the defense to be conducted in person and with an audience. In these cases, the advisor and/or DGS should notify the Dean or their designee for

Department and Program Admissions Considerations

The pandemic has slowed some students’ progress for their degrees, especially related to their research, scholarship, and other creative works. As you prepare for admissions and offers of financial support, consider whether your program should admit fewer students in order to provide another year of financial support to students whose work has slowed due to

Zoom Defense Tips

Tips to facilitate a Zoom defense: Getting prepared: Attend a Zoom trainings or review the Zoom tutorials. The latter has a number of articles that can be useful in preparing for your exam. Make sure you have signed up for your Zoom Pro accounts. This allows all the features (screen sharing, breakout rooms, waiting rooms, etc.) The

S/U (or Pass/Fail/No Pass) Grading for Admissions

Many institutions across the country instituted S/U grading policies during the Spring 2020 semester. We will not penalize students for the adoption of S/U and other grading options during this extraordinary period, whether the choices were made by institutions or by individual students. The admissions evaluation conducted by the Graduate School will focus primarily on

Additional Mental Health Support

Significant campus and academic decisions are being made in response to the Coronavirus. In response, grad students are experiencing enormous pressure from global uncertainty, isolation, semester deadlines, and family/health concerns. All graduate students should be aware that the counseling center is available to assist. Also, help is available free of charge. The National Grad Crisis-Line

City of Columbia Updates

If you are wondering how the City of Columbia is responding to COVID-19, click here for information.

CARES Act Emergency Financial Assistance (from Spring/Summer 2020)

The Federal CARES Act has allocated emergency financial aid grants to students who are unable to pay for expenses they have incurred as a result of the disruption to campus operations due to the COVID-19 circumstances. Expenses that you can request assistance for from this fund include food, housing, technology, travel to/from campus to a