Dear CSN Family,
Today, we are following up on questions by students, staff and faculty regarding remote placement testing and spring 2020 grades, as well as our plans for the fall 2020 semester.
I’m excited to let you know that we’ve successfully developed new placement testing alternatives that do not require in-person proctoring. CSN will place students in English using multiple measures, such as high school GPA and ACT or SAT scores. Additionally, beginning Monday, May 4, students will be able to take proctored English and reading Accuplacer exams via WebEx. For math placement exams, students will be able to access ALEKS PPL, also beginning Monday. We have also developed an English as a second language placement test to be delivered via Canvas, and it will also be ready for deployment on Monday.
You’ll recall that earlier this month, the Board of Regents adjusted the grading policy so students will be permitted to pursue a satisfactory/unsatisfactory grade. Like our sister NSHE institutions, a grade of “S” at CSN will be a D-minus or better. Instructors will assign typical letter grades at the end of the spring semester. Should a student want to change the letter grade to an S, the student will be required to meet with a counselor so the student makes a clearly informed decision. We will soon have an FAQ sheet ready for both students and counselors, and we are determining the timeline by which a student can make the request. Once these decisions have been finalized, we will let the entire CSN community know.
While summer registration is underway, we are already busy planning our fall semester, keeping in mind that the situation surrounding COVID-19 may cause us to alter or adjust our plans. We will continue to build our inventory of online courses while preparing our campus to meet COVID-19 protocol regarding deep cleaning, social distancing, personal protective equipment, and ensuring that every class has a robust online component in case circumstances require CSN classes to go fully online in the event of a second pandemic wave. Thus, our fall plans include a class schedule that offers online sections as well as converting face-to-face sections to hybrid or blended sections. We are also prepared to make the necessary changes to classroom and lab arrangements, provide PPE and adhere to deep cleaning protocols to ensure the safety of students, faculty and staff.
As part of our commitment to the collective bargaining process, I wanted to also let you know of two important upcoming events. First, there will be a Q&A from 10 a.m. to noon Wednesday, April 29 and another from 3-5 p.m. Thursday, April 30 via WebEx. Contact Dr. Andrea Brown for details. Additionally, faculty will have the opportunity to vote on the proposed contract using Election Buddy from April 30 through May 3. Contact Emily King for details.
Lastly, please don’t forget to join us for our Virtual Town Hall later today via the link in the right column of this email. We have had more than 300 people participating each week, and I look forward to doing it again. We are in this together and together we remain Vegas Strong and CSN Proud.
Stay safe and God bless.
Federico Zaragoza
President
College of Southern Nevada