MACON, Ga. — Schools are deciding how they can help their students navigate through courses as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to cause major changes.
Middle Georgia State University says it wants to be transparent on how staff are helping students through class withdrawals, tuition costs, and commencement.
"We didn't extend our withdrawal process because we wanted them to talk with their professor and financial aid to understand the implications with withdrawal," Vice President of Enrollment Management Jennifer Stenander said.
She says students are only allowed to withdrawal five times during their college career.
"Depending on your financial aid status, it can severely impact your ability to receive aid," Stenander said.
Instead, students can submit documents for a Hardship Withdrawal Appeal where administrators review it on a case by case basis with an opportunity for a refund and no grade penalty.
"If they did receive a hardship withdrawal, they would take the class at a later date. They would have to pay for the class again and that's why we want to talk to them and say, 'Here are your options'," Stenander said.
Stenander says students could opt for receiving an "incomplete" grade for their course.
"If they need to take an incomplete and complete the class at a later date, they can do so, and we have extended the date for them to complete the class. If they get a grade of an incomplete, but they don't have to pay for the class twice," Stenander said.
With the University System of Georgia's recent decision regarding tuition, Stenander says they're trying to help students make decisions that would cost the least.
"USG decides not to increase tuition for the next year, so that gives our students the ability to plan. We can also package our financial aid and give that out to students for the summer and fall semesters much more quickly," she said.
As far as commencement goes, MGSU has a graduation committee working on alternate dates for the ceremony.
In the meantime, they're putting together congratulatory digital and video messages and a social media campaign to honor their seniors.
Hardship Withdrawals and Incomplete policies apply across all of the University System of Georgia's institutions.
More information on withdrawal policies is available on Middle Georgia State's COVID-19 updates website.
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