The Graduate School continues to update our COVID-19 page. If changes in or updates to policy or practice that affect graduate students and postdoctoral scholars occur as a result of COVID-19, the Chancellor, Provost, Dean of the Graduate School, or other campus leaders will communicate with you via email and in newsletters. We also post those changes on the COVID-19 page on the Graduate School Website. |
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Returning to Campus for Research and Creative Works
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The campus is slowly beginning to repopulate our research, studio, and other facilities. Protective measures for all scholarly activities are essential. For more information about the research and creative works repopulation planning, click here. Note that anyone who is planning to return to campus must complete a return to work authorization through eCompliance.
Graduate students who are close to degree completion and rely on campus facilities to complete their scholarship can request to return to campus. They should first contact their advisor/mentor to discuss the rationale for returning and what plans will be in place to mitigate disease risk should they be authorized to return. Next, they should complete the return to work authorization form. The form requires several levels of approval before someone can return.
In some cases, graduate students and postdocs are part of faculty research teams that are intending to restart their research/scholarly programs. Lead researchers/scholars and/or faculty mentors will develop the plans to return safely. However, EVERY member of the team who is planning to return must complete the return to work authorization form.
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The Graduate School’s existing extension process should be used to request an extension for any student who needs to extend their time to degree due to disruptions in their lives and programs related to racial trauma. Just as with extension requests related to COVID-19, these requests will be granted liberally. The details related to trauma do not need to be disclosed.
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Summer Exams and Defenses
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- All written examinations must be conducted remotely. This may mean that programs will need to adapt how they conduct qualifying or comprehensive exams so that the student can do so at a distance.
- All defenses and committee meetings must be conducted virtually via Zoom or some other conferencing platform.
- Public defenses are not mandatory, but can be accommodated on Zoom.
See Zoom Defense Tips for information about how to facilitate a Zoom defense.
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Aetna and COVID-19 Coverage
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For those who have insurance coverage from Aetna: Aetna has several plan liberalizations in place regarding COVID-19. They have been extended from 5/31/20 through 9/30/2020.
The benefits include:
- Extend cost-sharing waiver for Inpatient Treatment related to COVID-19;
- Waive early refill limits on 30-day prescription maintenance medications;
- Continue to encourage 90-day maintenance medication prescriptions offering to Aetna-insured commercial and Medicare members;
- Extend cost-sharing waiver for in-network Telemedicine for outpatient behavioral and mental health counseling services.
- MinuteClinic is offering E-Clinic visits and are covered under the telemedicine no cost share benefit.
For questions regarding the Aetna plan, click on this link.
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Reminder of Health and Well-being Resources
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- The Counseling Center is offering remote individual therapy to enrolled Mizzou students. If you are interested in therapy, call 573-882-6601 and leave a message requesting an initial evaluation.
- The Counseling Center is also offering several remote group therapy options for Mizzou students for the summer 2020 term. If you would like to join one of the groups, call 573-882-6601 and leave a message. A group therapy coordinator will call you back.
- You can also take a Mental Health Assessment Online Screening or visit Ask Listen Refer.
- The Student Health Center remains open, but please call 573-882-7481 to schedule an appointment before coming to the building.
- Visit stufftodo.missouri.edu to access regular guided yoga and meditation sessions.
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Professional Development for Online Instruction
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Are you a GTA, GI, or a Teaching Postdoctoral Scholar this fall? Are you interested in learning more about how to prepare to teach online? There are several free online course design workshops this summer that can assist you. To learn more about these workshops, click here. N.B., the participant information refers to faculty—these workshops are open to all instructors, including graduate students and postdocs.
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gradESSENTIALS in the Summer
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Writing Retreats: Even though we cannot meet in person, we can still be productive writers! Two separate Friday sessions will open with participants briefly sharing writing goals and encouragement. At closing, we will share updates on our progress, and discuss motivations for getting through next steps.
Writing Groups: A six-week program with limited space! We are offering two separate writing accountability groups comprised of no more than ten students in each, led by Dr. Laura Page. Each group will check in weekly for 30 minutes on writing goals, challenges, and productivity. Program will run from June 15 through July 23.
- Group #1 | Mondays – 9:00 – 9:30am
- Group #2 | Thursdays – 11:00 – 11:30am
Groups will be formed on a first come, first served basis. Students may sign up for a group using the following Qualtrics survey: Summer 2020 Writing Groups
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Need Assistance from the Graduate School?
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For the health and safety of our staff and guests, the Graduate School staff is continuing to work remotely. Jesse Hall 210 and 205 are closed until later this summer. However, we are available to answer your questions and assist you. There are a number of ways you can contact us.
- If you are an enrolled student with questions related to your academic program and progress, including thesis and dissertation questions, please send an email message to graduaterecords@missouri.edu
- Individual meetings with Dr. Laura Page are available by appointment (e.g., review of documents for job searching).
- If you are a TigerView Alumnx or First Year Scholar, please send an email message to Dr. Raquel Arouca.
- You may also reach out to staff members individually; contact information is available on our Staff Directory page.
- For other inquiries, call 573-882-6311 and leave a message. We will return your call as soon as possible.
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Dear postdocs,
As Dean Hart mentioned above, campus has moved into a new phase, bringing more researchers back to campus. We know people may be anxious to get back to work and/or concerned about what repopulating campus will mean for the health and safety of our community.
We encourage you to review the information relating to the research and creative works repopulation plan, and remember that you must complete an eCompliance work authorization. We want to ensure that all postdocs on campus are as safe as possible under these circumstances and that your voice is heard as we navigate these uncertain times.
As your MUPA representatives, we are working with the Vice Chancellor for Research, the Dean of the Graduate School, and other administrators to ensure postdocs are represented in these critical decisions. As we learn more and clarify the guidelines and policies, we will ensure changes get communicated to our entire postdoc community. If you have concerns, don’t hesitate to contact Kim Jasmer at JasmerK@missouri.edu.
We want to point you in the direction of some resources:
- For assistance, leave policies, and other HR policies in response to COVID-19, please refer here.
- The MU Alert page has the most up-to-date COVID-19 related information.
As mentioned in the Restart Plan, there will be a mechanism for reporting unsafe work conditions, non-compliance with campus guidelines, and related concerns. In the interim, if you feel you are being put in an unsafe work situation, you may email me, Kim Jasmer, at JasmerK@missouri.edu or the Associate Dean of the Graduate School and Office of Postdoctoral Education, Lissa Behm-Morawitz, at Postdoc@Missouri.edu for assistance. Your report can remain confidential, however to remedy the situation we will need identifying information.
We are aware that members of our postdoc community have a lot of concerns right now beyond how to safely return to campus. We have heard concerns about funding, lack of childcare, lack of research productivity, and an unpredictable job market. We are working on ways to mitigate these difficulties and provide training and resources for our postdoc community to navigate these circumstances. However, right now the fight for justice for our black community takes center stage. We want you to know that MUPA unequivocally stands with you. We are here to support you in whatever way we can. Below we’ve included some resources and contacts for well-being and equity that are available to MU postdocs. Please don’t hesitate to reach out with your concerns or requests.
Sincerely,
Kim Jasmer
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MU Staff Advisory Council
Nondiscrimination Notices
Resources for Faculty and Staff
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