Date: Friday, March 27, 2020
Subject: Message to the Students, Kamran Asdar Ali, Interim Provost
Dear Students,
I hope all of you are doing well under the current circumstances. At LUMS, the health and safety of our entire community is paramount and hence we had decided to close the University initially until April 5th. In accordance with the recent Federal Government’s guidelines, this closure has been extended to May 31st, 2020. No decision has been made yet about opening the campus after May 31st and as this will depend on how best to protect the health and safety of all members of the LUMS community (and beyond) and reduce the spread of COVID-19. Please note, all classes will be conducted online from April 6th for the remainder of the semester. This is going to be our new reality, at least for the time being. We had not anticipated completing the Spring semester in this manner, but everyone is participating in this effort and together we are finding common solutions to move forward.
Your faculty is working very hard to provide you with continuity in your academic goals. Below we have listed broad outlines in order to complete the semester. Your own instructors will communicate to you (during the week of March 30th) how your remaining work for each class will be structured and the system they will use to facilitate your learning. The majority of you have responded to surveys regarding connectivity and we are sensitive to those who have problems in terms of low or no connectivity. We are continuing to contact students who did not respond to the survey so that no one is left behind.
The decision to go online is global and may create many challenges for you and for our faculty. This is especially true for the completion of courses for graduating seniors. However, our commitment is that all students complete the courses they are registered for during the spring 2020 semester. When applicable, faculty members will use the existing student class times for their online sessions and do their best to maintain regular online office hours. They have been encouraged to revise both the type and weights of the remaining assessments as these will be conducted remotely. Assessments are encouraged to be given sooner than later. In some cases, reduced accessibility and low bandwidth may mean reducing content where appropriate and choosing low tech solutions. As mentioned above, faculty will continue to closely communicate with their students and give the benefit of doubt to students who seek accommodations.
1. Timelines
a. No return to campus until May 31st as per HEC directives and more importantly for your own safety and in the interest of public health.
b. Online classes start April 6th.
c. May 8th is the last day of classes.
d. ALL grading instruments (eg. assignments, tests, etc) as determined by faculty to be submitted on or before May 21.
2. Grading, Withdrawals
a. Grades will be announced to students by June 8. The current letter grading scheme will remain in effect.
b. Students will have until June 14, following the grade announcement to exercise the option for a Pass or No Credit (the latter means repeating the course). If you choose No Credit, NC will appear on your transcript and does not impact your CGPA. Existing conditions for Incomplete grades will continue as before.
c. Students can withdraw from courses until April 20 but must maintain a minimum of 12 credit hours (for undergraduate students) during the semester.
3. Internet Access
On request, internet access can be provided to students on 100% financial aid for the remainder of this semester. You can contact IT helpdesk@lums.edu.pk Phone: 042 3560-8000 X 4149/4150
4. Learning, Teaching and Accommodation
a. Students are encouraged to use the existing class times to go to online sessions, office hours, etc. depending on what the instructor has determined.
b. Pay attention to the remaining work and how that is being assessed and invest your time accordingly. As you well know, generally each course requires more time than class instruction (online or offline).
c. Getting help and support, please stay in close communication with the following:
Re. RO Services: Portal link https://roservice.lums.edu.pk/
Academic advising: students should continue to work over email or other modes of remote-communication with their school advisers in their respective schools and departments, i.e. faculty advisers, staff advisers in advising units, program coordinators, etc. (If you have any issues connecting with school advisers, you can email the university’s Office of Academic Advising at bilal.malik@lums.edu.pk and Dr. Malik can facilitate the connection with your school advisers.)
Re. Mental Health and other related concerns: As a result of the current circumstances which are unprecedented the Counselling and Psychological Services in LUMS have changed their mode of care to providing online therapy via zoom which commenced on the 16th March. To see a counsellor the same procedure as before is in place which requires emailing student.counselling@lums.edu.pk after which you will be contacted by the Practice Supervisor who will walk you through the steps on how to connect with the student counsellor online. The Counselling and Psychological Services Centre is committed to providing continual support and care to our student community and a standard of care in which confidentiality will be maintained via the online platform.
If you have any questions please contact student.counselling@lums.edu.pk.
Re. Accessibility and Inclusivity: oai@lums.edu.pk
Re. The Learning Management System (LMS) IST helpdesk@lums.edu.pk Phone: 042 3560-8000 X 4149/4150
5. Graduating Seniors
a. We assure you that the commencement is not cancelled, but postponed. We will be providing an opportunity to return to campus when conditions normalize.
b. After the grades have been posted, if you have one remaining course to graduate you may be eligible for a directed study course in summer term (please contact the RO)
We all know that the top priority for all of us is the health and safety of our community, and those beyond our community who are impacted by what we do. We also understand that graduating seniors will not have the desired closure of their university experience at LUMS. We are sensitive to the fact that saying goodbyes to friends, faculty and to the campus itself is an importantritual that marks the transition from your family at LUMS to your journeys ahead. We promise that we will try to accommodate your wishes to return to campus as the time permits in the future. However, we also want all of you to take good care of yourselves, your family and the communities that you live in. As is evident, we are sharing a moment in history that will shape us for years to come. As young people with the kind of understanding and knowledge you possess, we also hope that you are thinking beyond yourselves and are taking extra care for elders, the more vulnerable amongst us and those suffering from financial and economic problems. I am certain many amongst you have already volunteered to serve those who are more in need or are helping people within your own families and communities. Your compassion represents the very best of what LUMS can offer the world; it makes all of us (your teachers) proud of you during these uncertain times.
Finally, you should know that we too are trying to navigate our way forward as best as we can. We will make mistakes and there will be bumps along the road. But all of us, your faculty specially, are committed to ensuring that your learning continues stronger than ever as we support one another in this endeavor.
We will continue to update you with information as best we can. Please be safe and take care of yourselves.
Regards
Kamran Asdar Ali
Interim Provost, LUMS
Dr. Arshad Ahmad (VC, LUMS)
Dr. Sabieh Anwar (Dean, SBASSE)
Dr. Tahir Andrabi (Dean, SOE)
Dr. Alnoor Bhimani (Dean, SDSB)
Dr. Adnan Khan (Dean, OSA)