By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
Bowling Green State University is extending scholarship application deadlines to address concerns of prospective students.
Cecilia Castellano, vice president for enrollment, said that the deadline for automatic scholarships has been extended. That will allow prospective students who have already applied to change their applications based on changed circumstances. Students who did not apply will now have another opportunity. These Freshman Academic Scholarships range from $1,000 to $8,000 and are renewable for all four years. They are based on an incoming student’s cumulative high school GPA, as well as ACT and SAT scores. The deadline was Jan. 15.
Her remarks came during a special meeting of the university’s board of trustees that was presented as a teleconference. The purpose of the meeting was to update trustees on how BGSU is addressing the coronavirus pandemic.
The extension was done, Castellano said, because of concerns that students may be wavering on enrolling “because of financial strain and anxiety about work and family employment.”
Castellano said that all scholarship forms are online, and staff available online to help returning students.
She told the trustees that university staff were getting feedback from social media.
Later, she said, one of the overreaching themes among high school seniors is sadness that their final year in school is being disrupted.
Also, at the meeting, President Rodney Rogers reported that the university was working on refunds for students’ room and board payments for the rest of the semester.
Reiterating what was announced earlier this week, Rogers said students will not be allowed to stay on campus unless they have nowhere else to go. “For international students it is difficult to get back to their home countries,” he said. Other students may have nowhere else to stay. Making sure they are safe is a priority for BGSU, Roger said.
That will mean some staff will need to work to clean dorms and feed those students.
Rogers said that the campus has moved to a remote work environment. Some jobs, though, cannot be done remotely. Those employees will be working observing appropriate social distancing. Those who hold those jobs but because of health concerns do not want to come to campus will have to use leave time, whether vacation, sick, or personal. Rogers said that during the crisis, they will be able to carry negative leave bank balances.
Provost Joe Whitehead said that the training of faculty to teach classes online is going well. The training has been conducted by the Center for Faculty Excellence and Information Technology Services, as well as making sure the infrastructure is in place.
Faculty has also stepped up to assist one another in that training.
Whitehead said that a course-by-course survey will be conducted starting today to determine which courses are ready to go, almost ready to go, or need more work.
Priority will be given to those seniors need to graduate “so we don’t delay those seniors from graduating.”
The university is also making progress in how to deliver studio classes and hands-on labs in a virtual environment, he said. “We’re making really great progress there.”
The university has established connections so students can log in and complete their work.
The university has learned from institutions that have been presenting online labs for a number of years.
The university has also launched a website to support faculty and students with online course issues, Whitehead said. The website identifies resources for students “to help minimize anxiety in the online learning format.”
