(This note by Dr. Debra Sells originally appeared on our Facebook page for the MTSU Parent and Family Association on Wednesday, April 15, 2020.)

I appreciate the patience of our students and families as we have assessed how MTSU can best respond to the reduction of use and accessibility to Aramark meal plans and facilities on the campus in the wake of our move to on-line learning and increased social distancing.

As you may know, MTSU is engaged in a long-term contractual agreement with Aramark that outlines the parameters of their operating and financial obligations as the exclusive food service provider to our campus.  In turn, students enter in one of two kinds of contractual arrangements with Aramark as relates to their individual meal plan selections.  Freshmen students living on-campus generally are required to participate in one of our all access meal plans, unless living in apartments, in which case they may choose the 150-meal plan. Other students may select to contract directly with Aramark to purchase any of a variety of plans, including all-access plans, defined meal plans with Flex Bucks, or just FlexBucks.

During this unusual spring term, many students have chosen to move home to complete their classes remotely, and therefore are no longer using their meal plans.  The university has also closed many dining facilities to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19.  While on-campus dining is still open and available to the more than 500 students still in on-campus housing, we are serving far fewer people than would be typical during the spring semester.

Under the terms of their contract with MTSU, and the terms of their individual contracts with students, Aramark is not obligated to provide refunds for unused meals.  Earlier this month, MTSU agreed to absorb the financial cost of rolling all FlexBucks that remain unused at the end of the term to the 2020-21 academic year, so that students have an additional year to make use of those funds.

We understand that for many families, additional financial relief is needed.  Therefore, we have now determined that MTSU will absorb the financial cost of offering a refund plan on unused meals.  This plan mirrors the refunds we instituted for those students who moved out of on-campus housing prior to the end of term.

MTSU will offer two refund options:

• Option A: Students who made no further use of their meal plan after 8 p.m. on Sunday, April 5, will be eligible for a refund that represents 60% of the average daily rate for the five-week period of April 5 to May 10.  Amounts will vary depending on the meal plan the student was using at the time. 

• Option B: Students who made no further use of their meal plan after 8 p.m. on Sunday, April 19, will be eligible for a refund that represents 60% of the average daily rate for the three-week period of April 19 to May 10.  Amounts will vary depending on the meal plan the student was using at the time. 

• Students who have continued to use their meal plan after 8 p.m. Sunday, April 19, will not be eligible for any refund.

MTSU will fund refunds from university budgets typically dedicated to other purposes. We will do our best to make prudent decisions to minimize immediate impact on students who will be returning in the fall and all future years.  

It is our hope that stepping up to share the financial burden with our students will give each family some additional flexibility in these difficult times.

 Again, I've appreciated your patience as we have taken the time to analyze all aspects of this important decision. Best wishes to each of our students as they complete this very unusual semester, whether they are doing so on campus with us or from another location.

To the University community,

This morning as I was coming to work, I took a moment to stop and look around, enjoying the quietness of the day and the beauty of our campus.  Looking out over Walnut Grove, I was surprised at how good it felt and then I realized, I was actually excited – maybe for the first time a several weeks.  I was excited, not because of the situation we are currently in, but for what the future holds for our community.  

As demonstrated over the past month, we are a family of incredibly talented, creative and resilient individuals.  Each of us has contributed to the success of the university in dealing with the COVID-19 virus.  I am very grateful for the commitment and dedication of our employees and students.  I am appreciative of our students, who were confronted with a crisis that upended their studies, plans and lives, yet have persisted…please continue to participate in your courses.  I am grateful for our faculty, who were confronted with perhaps the greatest challenge of their careers and responded with resolve and innovation. And my sincerest thanks to our staff and administration, who have soldiered on in this pandemic to support us and keep our University moving forward.

After ZOOM meetings with the Deans and Chairs yesterday, I am certain that we will continue to successfully navigate this situation.  More importantly, I am hopeful that in the not too distant future, we will soon be back on campus, engaging in a more traditional manner, and that we will emerge from this as an even stronger institution because of your efforts.

In this spirit, I would like to put forward some recent examples of how our True Blue family has shined in this crisis.

 Pass-Fail Grading Option

My appreciation goes to to Provost Mark Byrnes and Vice Provost Peter Cunningham, who, in consultation with our faculty-led University Curriculum Committee and Graduate Council,  produced this excellent and informative FAQ sheet to help our students navigate their options. Here’s a link to a great interview with Dr. Cunningham explaining the P-F option. Key points for students:

• Students will decide which, if any, of their courses will move to Pass-Fail grading.
• Students have until April 29 to decide. The online mechanism for choosing the Pass-Fail option will open on April 19.
• Professors will not know which option students have chosen. If students opt into Pass-Fail, our computer system will automatically convert the letter grade assigned by your professor to a P or F.
• If students do nothing, coursework will be graded on the regular letter grade scale.
• If you choose Pass-Fail, you must still finish the remainder of your courses!
• The University is still waiting to receive guidance from national and state agencies regarding financial aid implications.  Any Information received will be shared as soon as possible

Fall 2020 Freshman Admissions

Many thanks to our Admissions and Marketing teams for their creative efforts to attract excellent students to our University. I am proud to report that preliminary numbers for admitted freshmen for fall 2020 academic year as of April 1, are up 1.2 percent over last year’s gains in year-to-date admitted students.  We have crafted new strategies and invented new ways to reach prospects. Here’s a link to a great report on Fox 17 Nashville on our efforts, including the three new scholarships that we created for students who decide between now and August that they want to be part of our True Blue community.

Alumni Donate N-95 Masks to Student Health Services, MTSU Police

Su Ling, a graduate of the College of Media and Entertainment who works for China Radio International in Beijing, and Li Jiabin, the first exchange student from China Agriculture University, reached out to other MTSU alumni in China and provided 1,000 N95 masks for use by our Student Health Services and MTSU Police Department. My thanks to these True Blue alumni, as well as interim Vice Provost Guanping Zheng, for coordinating this effort.

MTSU Counseling Services Continues During Crisis

In keeping with recommendations for social distancing, we have suspended face-to-face counseling sessions and groups and have shifted to telehealth services for the remainder of Spring 2020. 

Details:

• All visits with counselors are by phone or via Microsoft Teams.
• Our primary focus will be providing supportive care and problem solving assistance during one-time appointments.
• Students who need support and do not have an assigned counselor may call Counseling Services at (615) 898-2670 to schedule a telehealth screening appointment.  During this screening, the counselor will listen to the student’s concerns and make recommendations of treatment options.
• Students who have an assigned counselor should monitor their MTSU email for secure messages concerning updates from Counseling Services or their counselor.
• Students whose treatment needs are long-term or specialized in nature, will be assisted in connecting to outside treatment providers.  In order to maximize our ability to provide services to as many students as possible during this challenging time, we will limit the number of clients we accept for on-going, weekly sessions.
• Students currently residing out-of-state will be assisted in finding mental health providers near their home.
• Our hours remain the same: Monday-Friday: 8:00 am - 4:30 pm.  Learn more at our website, https://www.mtsu.edu/countest/

Virtual Connection Point Event for Our Students

Our Student Affairs team continues to innovate ways to keep our students connected. On Saturday, caricature artist Adam Pate will produce real-time portraits of students who register for a webinar. Slots may be limited, so be sure to get in early. Each student drawn will also receive a digital download of their caricature from Adam. Please contact (615) 898-2551 before 4:30 p.m. today (Friday, April 10) if you would like to request any special accommodations for this event. Details:

• Who: Speed Sketcher: Digital Caricatures
• When: Saturday, April 11, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.
• Where:  Register at https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_uZ3zksSoS2CCGHTF_50xxw
• Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/254114235623085/
• Captioning: Available via https://www.streamtext.net/player?event=MTSPAREEVENTS.

Expressing Gratitude: My interview with The Tennessean

Finally, I wanted to share with you this video interview with The Tennessean and USA Today Network-Tennessee about the excellent work put forward by us at MTSU all during this crisis. I was happy to be given the opportunity to share my pride in you all.

I hope you and your family have a safe and healthy weekend. 

Sincerely,
Sidney A. McPhee
President
Sidney.McPhee@mtsu.edu