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NMSU Spring Semester 2020 Adjustments to the Academic Calendar, Grading Options, and Commencement

To: All NMSU System Students, Faculty, and Staff

From: Carol Parker, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs 

Re: NMSU SYSTEM SPRING SEMESTER 2020 ADJUSTMENTS TO THE ACADEMIC CALENDAR, GRADING OPTIONS, AND COMMENCEMENT 

As shared at the Virtual Town Hall yesterday, in order to accommodate the extraordinary academic, social and economic conditions created by COVID-19 in Spring 2020, the NMSU system has modified the academic calendar to allow students to Withdraw from a single, full-term course with a “W” (no refund) as late as Friday, April 17th, 2020. The change has been made on both the NMSU academic calendar website and the University Student Records Office “Important Dates” webpage. 

In addition, the NMSU System will extend the deadline for opting in to Satisfactory/ Unsatisfactory grading for most undergraduate and graduate courses (Thesis and Dissertation sections have their own pass/fail grading mechanisms). Students may now opt-in to S/U grading as late as May 6th, 2020, and students will be allowed to opt for S/U in any or all of their current courses. The default grading structure for students remains in place as well, e.g., traditional letter grades, for those who are not interested in S/U grading. 

Please note: the decision to Withdraw from a course, or to take a Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory grade is the STUDENT’s decision to make. Faculty may not make this choice for their students or impose this grading option on any of their sections. 

Before any student elects to take these options, it is imperative that they consult with their instructors, academic advisers, and financial aid advisers in order to decide whether an S/U grade is the best option for them. These choices can impact GPA and future financial aid eligibility. 

Finally, as mentioned at yesterday’s Town Hall, we will not be holding physical Commencement ceremonies this May. Instead we intend to provide our Las Cruces campus graduates with one of the most robust virtual ceremonies possible. I’m sure the Community Colleges are identifying their options, as well. In the coming weeks we will share more information about how speakers and videographers will create websites for our graduates to interact with us, to upload their pictures and videos, and much more. We will do our very best to honor our graduates. Our May graduates will also be able to participate at the December 2020 commencement ceremony as well, if they would like to experience the more traditional graduation ceremony. 

 

NMSU SYSTEM SPRING SEMESTER 2020 ADJUSTMENTS TO THE ACADEMIC CALENDAR, GRADING OPTIONS, AND COMMENCEMENT (PDF)