NDMU Announces Fall Updates on Teaching Modalities, Testing & Work-Study

We are so excited that in a month, we will be welcoming students to the University and the Fall 2020 semester. Faculty and staff have been hard at work preparing classes and the campus for your arrival.

As part of that preparation, the University has been putting in place the best practices for keeping everyone safe and healthy. While you will be receiving more information from Residence Life as we get closer to Move-In Day. I wanted to provide you with additional information regarding how your classes will be delivered as well as information about testing and work-study. Please know that our plans are continually evolving and we encourage you to visit regularly the NDMU Together website for the most up to date information. Please see the below information regarding teaching modalities, testing and work-study.

How will my classes be taught?

We are planning to offer all Womens College classes face-to-face with synchronous (real time) streaming via Zoom. Live streaming enables students who are unable to attend class physically due to underlying health conditions, which make them more susceptible to COVID-19, to participate in class in real time. Additionally, every effort is being made to put classes in rooms large enough for all students to attend in person while maintaining social distancing. If this is not possible in some very limited situations, instructors will still teach all students both face to face and synchronously/Zoom, but will have half of the students present in the classroom, while the other half is remote. The groups would then switch for the next class session.

Third, in some limited instances students may also have a course that will be taught remotely by the instructor. This is not an online class, but one delivered synchronously through Zoom to all students. Students will still be able to participate in classroom discussions and ask questions in real-time. Please see additional information about academics and learning.

Courses for our Adult Undergraduate and Graduate populations will be offered in the modality in which they are currently listed in WebAdvisor. Face-to-face courses will have similar flexibility as described above.

What testing is required before coming to campus?

In order to identify any asymptomatic, currently infected students before they arrive on campus, all students will be required to complete pre-arrival testing. Additional information about testing is available online. The test can be performed at the student’s home location within fourteen (14) days before arriving on campus. Students may obtain a COVID-19 test wherever they wish (local medical provider, local public health department, local mass testing station, etc.).

For example: If you are returning to campus on August 20, you will need to be tested between August 6-19.​

Details on where and when to submit pre-arrival testing will be shared by July 27, 2020.

What if I am an international student or a student that is coming to campus from traveling abroad?

Per CDC guidance, students returning to campus from abroad must self-quarantine for 14 days before returning to campus for the fall semester.

What if I am student who is coming to campus from one of the following states in the U.S.?

Students coming to campus from one of the following states must quarantine for fourteen (14) days prior to their return to campus for the fall semester. The current list of states meeting these criteria are available here.

Work-study – what is the plan for the Fall?

With regard to work-study, kindly note that 50% of work study awards may be utilized in the fall semester and 50% in the spring semester. Remote work opportunities for student worker positions will be made on a case by case basis by individual job supervisors. 

We hope that this information is helpful. The guidelines and protocols are needed in order to keep our community healthy and enable us to enjoy the community that makes Notre Dame of Maryland University. We are grateful for your flexibility during these times.

Please continue to visit the NDMU Together website regularly as information and updates are being posted. If you have any additional questions, please contact your school’s dean. We look forward to seeing you in the Fall semester.

Also in the news…