Dayton Daily News: Wright State offers help for students during the coronavirus pandemic

Excerpt

Wright State University has implemented several different initiatives to help students impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.

The school has launched the Student Emergency Relief Campaign that has been created through the Wright State University Foundation.

The campaign seeks to help students struggling with food, housing, lost wages, mental health, finances and education through fiscal support to several funds that help in these areas.

Wright State is also working on a plan for funds from the CARES Act, the federal stimulus bill, to help provide additional financial assistance or relief for students.

Plans should be announced next month regarding the federal assistance, according to Steve Sherbet, university bursar and director of treasury services.

“We want to try and be friendly and helpful to our students knowing they’re facing challenges right now,” Sherbet said. “We’re really trying to look out for our students and do everything we can to help them out and encourage them to continue to attend.”

Wright State plans to issue refunds and credits to students for housing, meal plans and parking for the spring 2020 semester.

Refunds will be issued for expenses students paid out of pocket and will not include scholarships or grants, according to information released by the university.

The university also won’t assess late payment fees for April and May, students also need to know that the spring withdrawal deadline was extended to April 17 if they had sent in a request to withdrawal before that date.

All undergraduate students may convert courses to Pass/Unsatisfactory grading for the spring 2020 semester. No limits will be placed on the number of courses that students can convert to Pass/Unsatisfactory, and students will be able to make their decision on a course-by-course basis.

Wright State will also offer graduate students the option to convert any course grade to “Pass/Unsatisfactory” grading for the spring 2020 semester. Courses in the M.D. or Psy.D. degree programs are not covered by this option.

The university will not automatically drop class registrations for students registered for the summer 2020 semester for incomplete or non-payment of fees.

Students who registered for summer classes and would like to drop one or more classes must log in to WINGS Express and complete the steps to drop the course.

“We want to give students ample time to get back on their feet and get the financial resources in place so they can attend for the summer term,” Sherbet said.

Students are encouraged to check the university’s COVID-19 website, www.wright.edu/coronavurius for updated information about resources and support.

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