Dear CSN Family,
As I have noted before, our students, faculty and staff have gone above and beyond during this crisis. I am not the only one who’s noticed that, either. Take a look at the online message board we created for people to post positive stories about our CSN Family. Here are just two of the dozens of entries made already:
- I want to give a shoutout to EVERYONE. Transitioning from in-person class to online classes is not as easy as it seems, but we are all doing our very best and I am proud of my fellow CSN students! I also wanna thank CSN Professors for making the transition as smooth as possible, you guys are rockin’!
- I just wanted to thank the Student Emergency Fund Committee for taking time to help me make ends meet during these tough times! I know a lot of us are going through tough times right now but I hope you’re all doing okay 🙂 Thank you CSN for always trying to provide all the resources we need to gain academic success.
That is amazing! Thank you to everyone who has posted so far. Your stories are inspirational.
I also want to remind you that we have scheduled virtual town halls every week this semester. There will not be one this week because of spring break, but look for information from my office on next week’s sessions. If you were unable to participate in last week’s, you may view them in their entirety on my blog.
You will note that many questions about in-person classes and remote instruction came up. As you know, we will be delivering remote instruction at least through June 30. With the exception of some healthcare classes, there will be no in-person classes for the summer sessions. There are a few classes still meeting in-person now, such as science labs, automotive and welding labs, and field experiences. We will cease these in-person courses for now and explore ways we can resume them after June 30. We will keep everyone updated as events develop.
We are also discussing the possibility that a satisfactory/unsatisfactory grading option could be deployed this semester in lieu of a letter grade once the issue has been addressed by the Board of Regents. Further discussion is underway regarding the placement of students in the proper courses with in-person math, English and reading placement testing unavailable right now. Again, we will update you as soon as possible.
Lastly, I want to remind you that the Board of Regents is scheduled to meet today at 1 p.m. There are several important items on the agenda, including delinquent student accounts, the satisfactory/unsatisfactory grading policy I mentioned above, and alternatives to postponed commencement ceremonies. The Board will meet again on Friday to discuss the latest direction from Gov. Steve Sisolak regarding budget cut proposals from all state agencies.
I want to wrap up today’s message by reminding us all that collectively we are indeed Vegas Strong and CSN proud.
Stay Safe and God Bless.
Federico Zaragoza
President
College of Southern Nevada