CoffeeBreak is an e-newsletter distributed to Averett faculty and staff to keep them up-to-date on campus activities and information. Please send information you would like included in CoffeeBreak via this form. For the next CoffeeBreak, please submit by Friday, March 27, for a Wednesday, April 1, publication.
Dr. Ryan Mallo Receives National Nursing Award
The School of Nursing is delighted to share that Dr. Ryan Mallo, associate professor in the graduate nursing program, has been selected as a 2020 Fellow of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (FAANP). The purpose of the AANP Fellows program is to impact national and global health by engaging recognized nurse practitioners to lead new initiatives and support the AANP mission.
He will be inducted at the FAANP Ceremony on June 25 in New Orleans. Congratulations, Dr. Mallo!
Remote Instruction to Continue
State and federal agencies have strengthened their guidance to college leaders to drastically reduce the numbers of students – and the faculty and staff who serve them – on college campuses to prevent the spread of the virus. Based on these recommendations, Averett University will continue remote instruction for the remainder of the Spring 2020 semester.
All staff and faculty who can continue their daily job functions and have the appropriate tools in place to work remotely should work from home until further notice. Averett will remain fully operational in all of our areas.
Please continue to visit averett.edu/alert for the latest updates and full details.
Pass/Fail (P/F) Grading Option
In order to ease any anxiousness about continuation of classes remotely and online through the end of the semester, all grading for Spring 2020 courses will default to Pass/Fail (P/F) grading, with the option for students to opt back in for letter grading (A, B, C, D, F).
– Students will be given the option to choose to remain with letter grading (A, B, C, D, F) and will be allowed to choose that option by noon on Reading Day, April 23.
– Students will have plenty of time to see how they are doing to make this decision in consultation with advisors, instructors, Student Success staff and coaches, but once a student chooses to have a letter grade, they will not be allowed to change back to a P/F grade.
– Faculty will continue to grade assignments as they normally do in order to determine a pass or a fail, and so that they can assign a letter grade if a student so chooses to have a letter grade.
– A student doing well in a class and/or trying to raise his or her GPA will still be able to do so by choosing to opt back into the letter grade system. Wait until later in April (deadline is noon on April 23) to choose this so they can see how they are doing in the class.
– While adopting P/F is meant to take away some anxiety about grades during an extraordinary time, this is not a license for students to ease up or disengage from their course work with a false belief that everyone will automatically pass—if a student fails a class in the P/F system, they will receive an F.
– Nursing classes will stay on the letter grade system and will not have the option to adopt P/F grades.
Graduation and Conferral of Degrees
In an effort to ensure the health and safety of our Averett community members during these uncertain times, All University events will be postponed until further notice, and as already announced, we deeply regret we must postpone our May 2 Commencement Ceremony. We are committed to celebrating this significant accomplishment and we are currently considering multiple alternative options and will be in touch with details as soon as possible.
All students who are eligible to graduate at the end of the Spring 2020 semester will still graduate with a graduation date of May 2, 2020. Students eligible to graduate at the end of the Spring 2020 semester must submit a graduation application by April 4. Graduates will receive their diplomas in the mail. Click here for more important deadlines and frequently asked questions that may help your students with their graduation process.
Academic Support Still Available
Academic Support still provides tutoring — just through an online format now!
Available to students are three options:
1. Zoom Tutoring.
a. Schedule here: https://AverettSuccessCenterScheduling.as.me/
b.Ensure you have downloaded Zoom as an app on your phone!
c. Email [email protected] with questions.
2. Writing Support.
a. Email your paper as an attachment to [email protected].
b. You will receive feedback within 48 hours.
3. Net Tutor.
a. This is a tutoring platform separate from Averett that you can access for free via Canvas. Use this if Zoom tutoring is not working for you. Email [email protected] for more questions.
Email [email protected] for general tutoring questions.
Virtual Career Development Workshop
As we all adjust to our remote, virtual world, the CCECC wants to provide students the resources needed to be successful in the world of work. Please encourage your students to join us for a live workshop to be held Tuesday, March 31, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. using Zoom.
Many students will likely have virtual interviews in the coming weeks and we want to help prepare them. This presentation is designed to answer many of questions and we will discuss virtual interview best practices.
To register, students should visit this link and choose Preparing for a Virtual Interview. Please contact Angie or Ryan with questions. We look forward to seeing you Tuesday!
Bookstore Updates
The physical campus Bookstore location is closed, however the campus store website remains open and is extending free ground shipping to avoid disruption. Team members will be available to fulfill orders and answer phone calls.
* RedShelf Update – Follett is partnering with RedShelf, to provide free digital access to students. The student can find the link on our bookstore website and must use their .edu email account to get access.
* Lumen – Our partners at Lumen are offering Waymaker and OHM, available at no cost for courses currently in session.
* Efollett Website – Free shipping for all online purchases. There will be a Customer Note and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) added to all store websites. The FAQs will be updates as needed.
* Rental Returns – Rental grace periods will be extended to 15 days. This does not change current Last Day of Finals date which is the due date for student check-ins. This grace period extension will allow more time for in-transit rental check-ins to be processed before non-return collateral charges process.
Please Complete the Great Colleges Survey
The Great Colleges to Work For survey is still open! Our institution is participating in this study designed to gather benchmarking data within higher education and to recognize institutions that have built great workplaces.
An invitation to take this survey was distributed to a random selection of our employees on March 9. The deadline to complete the survey is Friday, April 3. Check your spam file as a just in case you cannot find the link in your email.
Thank you to those of you who have already completed the survey! We appreciate you taking the time to share your views and opinions.
If you have not yet completed the survey, please take a moment to share your valuable feedback. The survey is completely voluntary and the institution will not be able to identify the results of individuals. The survey results play a significant factor in determining which institutions are recognized in the Great Colleges Program.
Whether or not our institution is recognized, we can learn from the feedback and make improvements for our future. We encourage everyone’s participation! A high response rate helps ensure an accurate representation of our community.
Thank you in advance for your participation. For questions, contact HR Director Kathie Tune at [email protected] or 434-791-7106 or visit www.GreatCollegesProgram.com.
Award for Graduate Study
Applications for the Elizabeth and James Bustard Distinguished Award for Graduate Study are available. Those who are interested in applying for this scholarship may do so by contacting Mary Sullivan at [email protected]. The deadline for applications is Friday, April 17, by noon.
SET Save the Dates
Summer Registration Days are as follows:
Friday, May 29
Friday, June 26
Friday, July 24
New Student Check-in for Fall 2020 will be Friday, Aug. 14.
All things Zoom
Faculty and staff may request a free Zoom license as part of Averett’s Education Zoom plan. To request an account faculty are to please contact Marietta Sanford at [email protected] and staff are to contact Carly Pearce at [email protected].
In addition, Zoom is now integrated into Canvas. The Canvas-Zoom integration allows instructors to schedule online meetings from within Canvas and is available in all Canvas sites. Instructions on how to integrate Zoom into your Canvas course can be found in the following link.
