7/16/2020 – Message from President Rice to students

posted in: Latest Communications

Dear UMPI Students,

Over the past several weeks, your faculty have worked to ensure that UMPI is able to provide the range of courses in the form and delivery modes which you have indicated you need.  These decisions were based both upon our dedication to providing a safe learning environment (with social distancing guidelines in place for each “live” instruction classroom on campus as well as other protocols) and reviewing the information you provided us in multiple surveys.  Later today, these adjustments to the schedule will go live in MaineStreet.  These include in-person classroom courses on the Presque Isle or Houlton campus, fully online courses (some including “real time” distance technologies such as Zoom, others designed for you to take at any time without any such requirements), and new “hyflex” courses that give you the option of in-class or fully distance educational experiences built into the same class section.  We are attaching a short guide and explanation of these options with this email, both as a Word and PDF file.

Please note that you will receive an email from our Registrar, Alexander Myhre, later today when the majority of these changes are finished.  (As is the case every semester, we will continue to make adjustments about specific classroom locations and even additional sections becoming available throughout the upcoming weeks.)

Upon receiving this email, we recommend that you review the updated schedule in your MaineStreet Student Center at your earliest convenience.  You may contact your professional advisor or faculty advisor at any time for further information.  In addition, professional advisors will be reaching out to each of you via your maine.edu accounts to help answer questions and assist in ensuring you have the schedule you need with the course modalities you prefer (in-person, online, hyflex, etc).  Note that individual classes may have changed their modality and their classroom space.  So whether you plan on being on campus this fall, commute to campus, or taking all of your coursework at a distance, please check your revised schedule.

The changes made to the schedule today reflect UMPI’s plan for a safe opening for the fall semester.   With the continued progress that Maine is making in recovering from the pandemic, as well as our own individual vigilance in maintaining UMPI’s safety procedures and protocols, we continue to prepare for a successful return to campus this fall. However, the safety of our community–students, staff, and faculty alike–is always our first priority.  Thus, should circumstances require, as they did this past March, your faculty are prepared to ensure that you can complete all of your courses at a distance regardless of their planned modality.

Important note:  If your housing needs have changed due to any adjustments you have made or will need to make in your academic scheduling, please contact Sarah Coyer as soon as possible (sarah.coyer@maine.edu).

Again, please do not hesitate to reach out to your professional advisors (contacts listed below), your faculty, or any staff members here at UMPI.  We are here to make this as seamless and successful a process as possible.

UMPI Professional Advising Staff:

Lorelei Locke, Director: lorelei.locke@maine.edu, 768-9553

Shara Page, Associate Director: shara.page@maine.edu, 768-9419

Jean Henderson, Houlton Center, jean.henderson@maine.edu, 521-3100

Bethany Lord, bethany.lord@maine.edu, 768-9619

Jessica Winslow, YourPace Programs, jessica.b.winslow@maine.edu, 768-9668

 

UMPI Course Instructional Modes PDF