Dear Grad Rebels,

We hope that this message finds you safe, healthy, and embracing resilience during the multiple crises that define this moment. As a federally recognized Minority Serving Institution and UNLV Rebels, our campus community prides itself on our diversity and celebrates difference and inclusivity as our strengths. We are open to new ideas; embrace change as a catalyst to a brighter tomorrow; and provide allegiance, support, a safe haven, helpful services, and proactive accommodations to lift up our Grad Rebels, during good times and bad. Please know that we’re here to work with you, listen to you, and support your needs.

As part of our commitment to keep you informed of new policies, processes, and deadlines to support your continued academic success despite the pandemic, economic crisis, and social injustice, please note the following:

As you know, UNLV has made the S/U grading option available to students for the Spring 2020 semester. The petition to change the grading basis for any or all Spring 2020 courses, except for modular courses that ended before March 16, 2020, is now available in the Grad Rebel Gateway. The deadline to submit petitions is this Friday, June 5 at 5 p.m. Once a student’s request has been approved, the grading basis cannot be changed back to a letter grade. Graduate students should discuss the implications of S/U grading with their faculty advisor and graduate coordinator. They may also discuss the change in grading basis with their Graduate College RPC coordinator to understand the impact on GPA and degree requirements and with Financial Aid to understand the impact on loans and awards. Learn more.

The Graduate & Professional Student Association is offering a one-time emergency grant to assist graduate and professional students experiencing sudden and unexpected financial crises. Apply for GPSA Financial Assistance here. The GPSA is also accepting applications until July 15 for its Student Researcher Award Program, which assists students in purchasing research materials, presenting their work at conferences, and supporting the completion of their degree program. Learn more here.

To accommodate students who would like to graduate this summer, the Graduate College has extended Summer 2020 graduation deadlines. Please find the extended deadlines on our COVID-19 webpage, under the Current Students accordion, then under the Completing Your Degree section. We advise you to work with your advisory committee, advisor, and/or graduate coordinator to determine appropriate timelines to complete your culminating experience.

All updates to the delivery methods for Summer Session III courses have now been completed and are reflected in MyUNLV and on the Summer Term ESchedule. Students should review their courses to confirm if the course remains remote or has transitioned to on campus.

Like instructional faculty, the university will accommodate remote work for graduate assistants who are in high-risk groups for COVID-19, who live with someone in a high-risk category, or who have family care responsibilities as a result of the pandemic crisis. Your graduate coordinator will work with you on this and we will be sharing additional information about how to request COVID-19 related accommodations soon.

In light of pandemic budget challenges, and in order to assist a larger number of graduate students through our Emergency Retention Grants in AY20-21, we have decided to suspend our Grad Rebel Doctoral Finishing Fellows program for AY20-21. We will be awarding our next round of Graduate College Emergency COVID Retention grants in the next week.

The Graduate College Leadership & Professional Development Academy, and other campus offices, are continuing to offer remote workshops throughout the summer to support graduate student online instruction, as well as professional and career development. Find information about them on our Workshops Calendar.

As part of our 2019-20 strategic planning process, we set out to establish a Graduate Student Advisory Council, which will work with the Graduate Council and the Graduate College to ensure the inclusion of a diverse group of graduate students in important initiatives to realize our mission, as well as a joint faculty-student Committee on Graduate Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity. Both of these groups will commence in the fall semester. If you would like to serve on one of these important new committees, please send a brief statement explaining your interest, describing what you believe you can contribute, and include a copy of your resume or C.V. Please also cc: your graduate faculty advisor/mentor or your graduate coordinator. Send self-nominations to Graduate.Dean@unlv.edu by July 6, 2020.

I will be staying in touch more this summer than usual as it is important to me to transparently share information, plans, and decisions in order to keep you in the loop. Now and throughout the entire summer, we are here to help you address any regular questions or special issues that may arise. Please feel free to reach out with questions or if we can help in any way.

I wish you a healthy, happy, productive, and safe start of your summer.

Stay resilient and be well,