Remapping Academic Life in the Second Semester, SY 2019-2020

  
Greetings of hope even from a physically distant angle! 
 
One month into the ECQ and the curve is far from being flattened.  It looks like we have to face this crisis further!  We are all trying to fulfill our responsibilities and yet we are also all heavily weighed down by anxiety. In the interest of everyone’s well-being in our community, the Loyola Schools has thought it best to end the semester earlier than scheduled.  For both graduating and non-graduating undergraduate students, this Second Semester SY 2019-2020 will end on 8 May 2020.
This memo articulates guidelines pertaining to how we are remapping academic life (particularly for undergraduate students) in this shortened semester and configuring the consequent financial implications.  The Associate Dean for Graduate Programs will issue a separate memo on guidelines pertaining to graduate students in this shortened Second Semester SY 2019-2020.
 
ACADEMIC WORK
Until 8 May 2020, we enjoin teachers and students to remain observing the guidelines set in the LS Memo of 20 March regarding online learning support for students.  We would like to reiterate, specifically, the following:
1.      that teachers carry on making learning material available online for students;
2.      that no graded assessment should be made during the ECQ based on any of this material, in consideration of those who continue to have weak or no internet access outside of the LS campus,
3.      that if faculty members want to hold synchronous classes online, they may do so on condition that (a) these are agreed upon with the students, (b) attendance is not required, and (c) these discussions are recorded and made available to those who did not participate live. Opportunities should also be made available for those who did not participate live to engage the teacher in discussion on the matter taken up.
 
Please note that the decision of schools or departments to enact either Option 1 or Option 2 (see LS Memo of 20 March) in case the ECQ is lifted on April 15 is rescinded. No additional requirement should be assigned to students after this period. But the graduating students who need letter grades should continue to fulfill the expected requirements as described in the section “Letter grades” below.
 
Mindful that non-graduating students may not have acquired the necessary knowledge or skills that are prerequisites to their next courses in the Intersession or the 1^st Semester of 2020-21, departments will arrange free audit classes, free workshops, and free modular activities onsite or online. Specific guidelines will be crafted by the concerned programs or departments in consultation with their respective school deans. The schedules will be announced in due time.
 
THE MATTER OF GRADES
The Loyola Schools is of the mind to pass all eligible students this semester by giving them a P (pass) mark.  Giving a P mark is the most humane way of dealing with student grades under the circumstances that we are in, where it is difficult and unfair to make a judgment of failure considering that students have not been given the benefit of a full semester to improve their performance.  
 

Letter grades
A.    Graduating students may opt to request letter grades under the following conditions:
1.      They must make their request between 13 April and 24 April to their respective dean’s offices through the office email addresses:  Humanities,  dean.soh@ateneo.edu; Management, dean.jgsom@ateneo.edu; Science and Engineering, dean.sose@ateneo.edu; Social Sciences, dean.soss@ateneo.edu. The request must be approved by the respective deans. No requests will be honored after 24 April 2020.   
2.      A letter grade request must be for the entire set of courses in which the student is registered this 2^nd Semester SY 2019-2020, not only for courses of the student's choice.
3.      Once approved by the dean, the letter grade request is binding; in other words, students can no longer revert to choosing a P mark instead of a letter grade for their courses this 2^nd Semester.
4.      The basis for the letter grades (as stated in the LS memo of 20 March) includes the following:
a.       For non-thesis courses:  the class standing and the one additional work (for submission on 4 May) to be assigned by the teacher
b.      For thesis and terminal courses:  the class standing; depending on the student’s program’s requirements, the thesis/ capstone project (for submission on 8 May) or a comprehensive exam; and the one additional work for submission on 4 May.
5.      For graduation honors, cumulative QPI will be computed only until the 1^st Semester of SY 2019-2020.  If students request letter grades in the 2^nd Semester and this request is approved, the 2^nd semester grades will be included in the computation of the cumulative QPI.  The students can, consequently, either receive a higher Cumulative QPI or run the risk of getting a lower Cumulative QPI depending on their 2^nd Semester letter grades. It must be noted, that choosing a letter grade can also mean incurring an F grade.
B.     Students who are taking the JTA fast-track courses, which are scheduled to begin on 20 April, will receive letter grades, not P marks. The reason for this policy is that while the majority of the LS students who are going to receive P marks are receiving these marks for courses that they already began at the start of the 2^nd Semester, those who are doing the JTA fast-track courses have not even begun the courses yet. Their grades in these fast-track courses, however, will not be included in the computation of their cumulative QPI. 

These fast track courses are likely to be done online instead of onsite, given the yet unstable health situation. Alternatively, these students may instead opt to take these courses during the Intersession or the 1^st Semester SY 2020-2021 as long as doing so is warranted by their IPS.
 
WP mark
1.      Students who already overcut classes even before the ECQ or who have received a W will instead receive a WP mark. They will have to retake the courses in which they have incurred this mark.
2.      Students who are already processing a Leave of Absence (LOA) will receive WP marks for all the courses they are enrolled in this 2^nd Semester, SY 2019-2020.
3.      Students who have already submitted their requests for a WP to the ADAA, or whose processing of their load revision form was interrupted by the ECQ, will receive WP marks upon their completion of the required process.  Details of the online load revision completion process for WP marks will be issued by the ADAA.
 
INC/NE marks
Students who still have INC/NE marks from the 1^st Semester of SY 2019-2020 but who have not been able to complete their requirements because of the ECQ will be given an extension up to the last day of the 1^st Semester SY 2020-2021 for the completion of such requirements. Once these students have completed the requirements, they will receive an actual letter grade, not a P mark.
  
THE QUESTION OF GRADUATION
A lot of you, graduating Ateneans, must be wondering now what would happen to that most important ritual of marching down the aisle inside the warm but festive High School Covered Courts – in your gown, cord on your shoulder, hood on your arm, cap on your head – and feeling the cheering crowd at this big event called graduation!
 
Obviously, in this most unusual circumstance we are in, graduation will sadly not take place as scheduled on 29-30 May 2020. L  Contingency plans are still subject to discernment as we consider the needs of parents and students, suitable venues, as well as health and well-being parameters.  We are, however, looking at three scenarios:
 
1.      Graduation ceremonies in October 2020.  We hope that all shall be well by then and we could come together for onsite graduation ceremonies like we normally d0:  2 schools each time spread out in two days.  Other possibilities are graduation ceremonies per school or per department or per program spread out in two weeks.  
2.      Graduation ceremonies in May 2021 (Batches 2020 and 2021 together). This is when the two K-12 transition cohorts of Ateneans may be together in the same ceremonies. 
3.      No graduation ceremonies at all! L.  Many universities abroad have cancelled graduation ceremonies altogether.  This is our last option and we hope the circumstances will not draw us towards it.
 
NOTE:  Whether or not graduation ceremonies are deferred or do not take place at all, transcripts of records and diplomas will be released early because we understand that students will need these when they apply for jobs or go to graduate school.  The Registrar’s Office will issue a separate memo on the schedule of the issuance of these records.
 
WORK OPERATIONS
During this time of lockdown, while onsite work has been suspended, university undertakings have continued through a work-from-home mode (for those who can), supported by online facilities.  The faculty, in the spirit of cura personalis, have been entrusted with the responsibility of connecting with their students online and crafting ways of helping also those who cannot be online.  Our scientists are busy in the labs on mission-critical experiments that may be able to address aspects of the current crisis.  The LS administrators have been fully onboard through online meetings and transactions to be able to make sense of the volatile situation while managing life in the LS community as well as responding to the needs of the communities down from the hill.  We are working closely with the Ateneo DReaM (Disaster Response and Management) Team that is at the forefront of social involvement, through the leadership of VPSD Lino Rivera. We are, likewise, collaborating on other university-wide efforts that engage resources in support of the needs of the bigger society in this time of emergency.
 
Implications for financial resources
We are happy to report that there is an ongoing upgrade of our internet and online learning management facilities.  More than ever before, we realize now how carrying out our responsibilities on an online mode is crucial to sustaining our life as an academic community.  We are one with the University in its vision to allocate a sizeable infrastructure investment for technology that will give us a fuller and more robust competence for online services and instruction. 
 
This entire semester, despite the ECQ, all LS employees continue to receive salaries and benefits that have been allocated for them from tuition fees in this school year’s budget. 
 
As we know, emergent needs have resulted from this global health crisis.  Understandably, the mandate from the university is for us to tighten our belts the rest of the semester and beyond even much firmer than we did during past crises.  You can imagine how managing the forthcoming months on the long haul can be quite financially challenging for the entire university. 
 
The Loyola Schools endeavors to build further its Emergency Fund (DCB: Tanglawan) to sustain support for those who need help in our community, especially students who have already reached out to us during this time of crisis.  Our Ateneo DReaM Team, even as it continues to receive support from university funds, is likewise campaigning for more financial donations so that we as a university can help communities more extensively with food rationing, the production and distribution of personal protection equipment to medical front liners, creating spaces for PUMs and PUIs as well as health care workers, and many more.  The DReaM Team has actually done quite a lot now but given the magnitude of our problems related to this health crisis, nothing can be quite a lot.
 
I’m happy to report to the community that, so far, 73% of our student orgs have donated to the Ateneo DReaM Team a total of close to PhP600K from the funds allocated to their DCBs this year.  The rest of the orgs have also pledged so we are expecting more donations in the coming days. Thank you, Ateneans, for your kind hearts! J
 
Money back
Students have been asking the question:  Will there be refund given the lockdown?  The immediate answer is, yes!  Students will get a refund of PhP20,000 from tuition and other fees and a 60% refund from lab fees.  Students with partial scholarships will also get a refund on a pro-rated basis. 
 
Please take note of the following:
1.      For students applying for a leave of absence (LOA), the standard Central Accounting Office refund rates will apply.
2.      The actual refunds will be processed at the end of the semester.
3.      Graduating students will get their refunds by check or through tuition fee credits (for outstanding balances). If they decide to have the refund transferred online, they can also nominate a bank account to facilitate this method. The OVPLS will reach out to students via their OBF accounts on details pertaining to the relevant processes.
4.      Non-graduating undergrads will get their refunds in the form of tuition fee credits (for outstanding balances or for the next semester). The OVPLS will reach out to students via their OBF accounts for more details pertaining to these processes.
5.      It must be understood that students who are enjoying full scholarships from external institutions (ex: DOST, CHED, etc.) will not get refunds from the Loyola Schools.

An appeal, if you please…
Not all needs are created equal!  Hence, for a good number of our students, the refunds might not be enough to help sustain their daily needs.  What can be done to assist them further?

If it’s not too much, I would like to make an appeal from the heart – but only to those who can afford it– to donate their refund, or some amount from it, to the LS Emergency Fund (DCB: Tanglawan) or even to the DReaM Team.  Only when possible…. This is not a policy mandate.
I understand that students will not be able to respond to this appeal on their own.  I would like to encourage them to discuss this matter kindly with their parents or anyone else who has given them the privilege of financial support for their education.  They will know best.  We will appreciate the wisdom that will come out of your discernment process and graciously respect any decision that ensues from it.  
 
To provide students with details pertaining to possible donation, the OVPLS, in due course, will send an email message to them via their OBF accounts.
 
Whatever you decide to give, as long as it comes from the generosity and freedom of your heart, will go a long way for those who are in greater need.  As Pope Francis tells us: “Creativity of love can overcome isolation.” We may be physically distant but close in heart and prayer.
 
WHAT NEXT?
In the succeeding days, we will probably begin to verbalize questions that we may have already been thinking of but answers to which we were just too anxious to know:  What will happen to the Intersession Term? What will happen to Intersession internships? Will the first semester be on track given the disruptions that have taken place this time? What is the impact of these adversities on SY 2020-2021?  These questions have actually been haunting the LS administrators! I would like to inform the community that we are currently working on contingency plans which will be the matter of the next LS memo.
 
In this time of uncertainty, when we have been stripped of our control over things, we are challenged to redesign plans, change schedules, amend strategies, and modify lifestyles. 
 
We live from day to day but we strive to live everyday fully.
 
This Holy Week, we reflect on Christ who was also stripped of control over everything around him but whose “Thy will be done!”  pleased the Father.  We follow Him in His journey, not only from His Agony, to the Cross, to His Death, but most importantly, to His Resurrection – His triumph over darkness and evil and sin.  May we learn from His example and take up our challenges with dignity, courage, and hope.
 
Have a blessed celebration of Holy Week!
 
Take heart, everyone!  Keep safe and strong.