Dear graduate students,

I sincerely hope that this message finds you well despite these challenging circumstances.

Our goal is to keep you informed, so please find below a number of important updates:

For those who received a CARES Act grant, you must accept or decline it by July 15, 2020. Students should log in to their MyUNLV account, click the Financial Aid tile, change the award year in the dropdown menu to 2019-2020, and choose to accept or decline the award. All students who were enrolled in Spring 2020 classes, regardless of whether they specifically applied for a grant or not, are encouraged to check MyUNLV. Unaccepted funds are subject to redistribution among eligible students after this date.

As was offered in Spring 2020, UNLV will make the “S/U” grading option available to all students for the Summer 2020 semester. Instructors will submit final course letter grades for Summer 2020 courses, as usual, after each summer session. Once letter grades have been posted in MyUNLV after each session, students will be able to submit a petition to change the grading basis to S/U for completed Summer 2020 courses. This form, which will be available in your Grad Rebel Gateway, will be accepted starting on July 15 for Summer Sessions I and II, and Aug. 19 for Summer Session III. All Summer S/U requests must be submitted by 5 p.m. on Sept. 8, 2020. Learn more on the Graduate College COVID-19 webpage (under Information for Current Students -- Stay Enrolled & Keep Progressing).

If you have not yet heard from your advisor or graduate coordinator about when and how you can resume your research, scholarship, or creative activity, I encourage you to review UNLV’s Restarting Research Plan. As you will see, it is up to each faculty member to propose safe guidelines to resume their research, including that of their graduate students. Once approved, research may resume. If you have questions, please work with your advisor, graduate coordinator, or chair to get additional information about resumption plans for your specific research, scholarship, or creative activity.

Please remember that enrollment for Fall 2020 is open and we anticipate a hybrid learning environment in which some of our classes are held on-campus and others are delivered through remote instruction. I encourage you to enroll as soon as possible to ensure you get the classes you need to progress in your program and to help us plan. Despite these challenging times, we are here to support your continued academic success -- please reach out if we can assist in any way.

Please review your schedule in MyUNLV to determine if any of your classes are hybrid or remote. The university will continue to stay in touch as the semester approaches, and I encourage you to review your schedule regularly for possible additional updates to the mode of instruction, as we continue to work in a changeable environment. Please contact your graduate coordinator, visit the Fall 2020 FAQs webpage, or reach out to us with any questions regarding the upcoming semester.

UNLV has prepared a gradual, staged approach to resume on-campus operations that includes implementing procedures to maintain social distancing and mitigate risk. The university is undertaking enhanced cleaning with EPA-approved disinfectants that are effective against COVID-19, has installed additional hand sanitizers across campus, requires everyone on campus to wear a face covering, and more. We invite you to watch this "Rebels Make Masks Happen" video before you visit campus.

As we messaged to our international students on Friday, we are doing everything we can to provide appropriate and safe on-campus classes that ensure F-1 visa holders’ compliance with the July 6 U.S. Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) guidance on enrollment requirements for F-1 visa students planning to study at U.S. universities this fall. We know this is an incredibly challenging time for our international students, their families, friends, colleagues, and mentors. We were surprised and frustrated by the SEVP guidance and we stand firmly with our international community of students and scholars. Our message to international students is clear: we stand with international students and scholars and greatly value them as part of our graduate community. Our international students are welcome and belong here, are valued, and we will do everything in our power to support their timely degree progression and completion.

Since March 25, the Graduate College has awarded 160 emergency retention grants totaling more than $182,000; however, due to budget constraints, I regret to tell you that our ability to award these grants is extremely limited for the time being. We sincerely apologize and are working to increase our available funds in order to support our students facing the greatest need in the months ahead.

If you are a graduate assistant, please keep an eye out for an email from us in the next couple of days with additional information that is specifically relevant to GAs.

As always, please reach out with any questions or concerns. The Graduate College team and I remain wholly committed to assisting and supporting you during these unprecedented times.

Please take care and be well!