MSJC COVID-19 Updates | 4-02-2020 5:40 PM

Sent 04/02/2020

Dear Students,

As you may know by now, Riverside County Public Health on Thursday extended the physical closure of schools through June 19. This will not affect the rest of our spring semester nor the summer session as both of those will be taught in an online format.

We are just a few days away from restarting our spring 2020 semester and we can't wait to see you all virtually! We are ready to welcome you back and are working behind the scenes to make this transition as smooth as possible for all of you.

We will be releasing in the coming days a virtual Student Support Hub that will feature access to all of our phenomenal student support and services so that you have all that you need at your fingertips to finish out the semester strong and can continue to feel engaged with your college community. Because, that has been our ultimate priority and goal -- to help you feel connected, encouraged, and supported through this unprecedented transition.

We know that for many of you, the transition to online is not the only challenge that you are facing given the scale and scope of this pandemic. We recognize that so many of you are facing obstacles related to employment, health access, housing, and perhaps are juggling taking care of family and/or children while also working from home.

We understand that transitioning to an online environment may be entirely too much to handle, given all of your other responsibilities. While we had hoped for you to be able to complete your course(s) and are providing as much remote online support as possible to ensure that you remain in your program of study and are successful, we fully understand that the COVID-19 pandemic may create circumstances where you are simply unable to finish your course this semester and may need to temporarily pause your attendance.

Please know that we understand this decision and with the help of the California Community Chancellor's Office have provided an opportunity to pause your attendance without negatively impacting your academic progress.

We are allowing students to withdraw from their course, if necessary. Again, we hope you will give this new online environment a chance and try it for the first week or so; however, if you determine you simply cannot continue we are offering students the opportunity to withdraw from their course(s) with an Excused Withdrawal (EW). The EW will be noted on your transcripts, due to these extraordinary conditions. The EW will not affect your academic progress, academic probation, or your ability to repeat a course. The EW will not penalize you academically and is not counted in progress probation or dismissal calculations towards the permitted number of withdrawals.

Should you wish to withdraw we ask that you please complete the withdrawal process in Self-Service.

You will not be required to complete additional paperwork or petitions to withdraw or receive a refund. We do want to caution you as you make this decision and make you aware of the following, especially if you are a financial aid recipient:

If a student drops units, there will be a Financial Aid impact in that, at this point, you may have to pay back funds.
If a student is planning to transfer in fall 2020, they should make an appointment to see a counselor to discuss the decision prior to dropping.

A refund of student fees, including enrollment fees, will be provided to all students who withdraw due to the coronavirus outbreak. The change from face-to-face to online instruction is a significant program change and we recognize that not all students will have the same access to courses converted to online instruction.

We are hopeful that once conditions return to normal and you are able to continue with your education, you will find your way back to our MSJC Family. We will be here to support you upon your return.

Should you have additional questions and/or concerns regarding the Excused Withdrawal (EW) or student refunds, please submit those inquiries to covid19@msjc.edu and we will route to the appropriate departments to assist you.

Please take care and stay well.

Roger Schultz
Superintendent/President