Daily Update from Dean Lively
Dear Undergraduates,
I'd like to acknowledge upfront that things continue to change rapidly as the health crisis escalates. Things that seemed like good ideas - or even possible - as recently as a few days ago, are no longer feasible or possible given the progression of the pandemic, ongoing concerns about the local health care system, potential surges in patient needs, and the increasing number of shelter in place orders across the country.
Let me begin simply by conveying how deeply sorry we are that this is the state in which we find ourselves. We are doing everything we can to address your questions by giving you accurate information - even if it causes frustration or you disagree with it. And we know that seniors, in particular, are feeling the brunt of many of these decisions, as they begin wrapping up course requirements and preparing to graduate.
I am not going to pretend to understand what you're feeling right now. I have no doubt that your individual feelings may differ from those of your peers, and they are also likely to be changing by the day, if not by the hour. I am sorry, but there is nothing we can do at this point other than ride it out. This situation, that no one could have predicted, is bigger than all of us.
With that in mind, we have some important reminders and new announcements - clearly marked - about technology, financial aid, personal belongings, medical prescriptions, and communications.
Please read each of these carefully and keep this email as an important resource for future reference.
IMPORTANT D-PLAN REMINDER: As we told you last week, if you need to request a change in your D-plan for spring term and have not already done so (whether from an R to an L, or to switch in to an R for spring), you must submit your request to the registrar's office right away (registrar@dartmouth.edu), with a brief explanation of your reasoning. It is critical that you do this as soon as possible. Billing for spring term, and requests for reimbursements, depend on your D-plan status. Requests for a change need to be resolved before billing can be updated or reimbursement requests resolved.
ACCESSIBILITY ACCOMMODATIONS REMINDER: Alison May, the Director of Student Accessibility Services (SAS), is part of the academic continuity planning team working to transition courses to a remote format. She has been in touch with all students currently registered with SAS about spring term accommodations. If you have questions for the Student Accessibility Services team, they will be available by email, phone, and Zoom, including remote appointment availability, now and during spring term. SAS will continue to provide disability-related services and to coordinate with faculty and staff members as needed.
NEW TECHNOLOGY UPDATE: If you want to enroll in courses for spring, and IF you are in a location where you have little or no internet access, we have a team standing by to review your individual options. If you would like to talk to someone about this, please send a note right away to spring2020@Dartmouth.edu. You can expect a response within 24-48 hours. And please, to all of you who may have general or other questions about remote learning, hold those for now so that we can focus on your peers who face the biggest challenges. Instead, go to Student Tech Check at https://services.dartmouth.edu/TDClient/1806/Portal/KB/ArticleDet?ID=101369 for general information.
NEW FINANCIAL AID: Spring bills and financial aid awards are currently being updated. Students with revised financial aid will be notified when the award is finalized and available on line. Adjusted spring bills and financial aid awards will appear on the recent activity tab of D-pay by the end of the week. Please note that spring term financial aid funds will not be disbursed and available to you until the day after the you check in for spring. The online check-in process will begin on Sunday March 29.
NEW BELONGINGS AND STORAGE
Given the rapidly accelerating public health crisis right here in the Upper Valley, the two local positive student tests, significant health and safety reductions in available staff (both at the College and locally), increasing shelter in place orders around the country, the need to protect local health care resources, the Town of Hanover's appeal that students not return, and the need to protect the health and safety of the campus and Hanover community, we cannot arrange for pick-up or delivery of any personal belongings until the public health crisis has abated.
No one - not students, not family members, local friends, acquaintances or others on a student's behalf - whether from near or far - may come to campus to collect belongings. We cannot increase the risk of transmission for the Dartmouth community or the Upper Valley. The buildings and storage are locked and will not be accessible. There will be no exceptions.
Any reimbursement requests for actual damage to personal property resulting from this extraordinary need will be handled through the normal College reimbursement process - after the crisis has passed. We know this affects thousands of you, and we know how difficult it is to imagine being without your things. This is another unfortunate consequence of the public health crisis. We are very sorry again that you have to live through this.
MEDICATION SUPPORT: We know that some of you are concerned about medications you may have left behind. Dr. Mark Reed, Director of our Health Service, advises the following. Dr. Reed and our pharmacy staff stand ready to consult with you. You can reach them the pharmacy at 603-646-9456.
If you left your medications in your room on campus or need refills, we can help in the following ways:
*The College Health Service pharmacy can mail refills on file to many states (NH, VT, MA, ME, NY, CT, PA, GA, FL, AZ, and CO). If you live in a state not on this list, the pharmacy can transfer your prescription to a local pharmacy near you.
*If you need a refill and your prescription was written by a College Health Service provider, please contact your provider through Primary Care, at 603-646-9400, or Counseling, at 603-646-9442. Our providers will be happy to send a refill order to a pharmacy near you. If you call us, please have the name, phone number, and full address of your preferred pharmacy when you call.
*If you live in one of the states that we can mail prescriptions to (see above), and you have the Dartmouth Student Group Health Plan (DSGHP), it will likely be less expensive to have the Health Service pharmacy fill and mail your prescription to you - though it may take up to ten days for mail delivery to reach you. We stand ready to support requests for filing and mailing from here, or calling refills in to pharmacies near you.
*If your prescription was written by a provider outside of the College Health Service, you should contact that provider directly for a refill.
*You should know that given the disruption COVID-19 is causing nationally, many insurance companies, including the DSGHP, are covering prescription overrides/early refills at their usual standard rate.
*If you would like to consult with one of our pharmacists about any of these options, we stand ready to assist. Again, please call: 603-646-9456.
Finally, as we have now done with Maxwell, Channing Cox, 11 Webster, and the Lodge (beginning today): if the College has a need to empty buildings to provide appropriate space to protect the health and safety of those who are here, we will notify you, and pack and secure your things. This is another necessary consequence of the public health crisis. We are doing this only as necessary based on consultations with health care providers and public health officials. Again, we do not expect any damage, but should you discover any damage to your belongings as a result of this once the crisis has passed, the College will cover the damage according to our usual procedures.
Please know that we want to address this as quickly as possible, just as you do. When the medical crisis has passed and we are all able to resume normal functioning, we will inform you as soon as we can about the process for accessing, retrieving or shipping your things.
COMMUNICATIONS: I would like to take a moment to address again those of you who have submitted literally hundreds of comments and questions to offices across campus, and have not received an individual reply. As you can imagine, the sheer volume of inquiries, arguments and suggestions have simply outstripped our ability to respond on an individual basis. Please know that we are reading every message. We hear you. We are doing our best to answer these as a collective, to provide equal and timely access to information for all as soon as it becomes available. Indeed, my messages to you are meant to address your concerns as quickly as we can. Today's messages are a good example. We are prioritizing adjusting systems, policies and processes to this new reality. Please be patient. As systems are developed and answers become available that we can implement at an individual level, such as individual D-plan changes and reimbursement requests, we will begin to do so.
Thank you again for your patience. We will stay in touch with all of you, through this medium, throughout this crisis. I hope that you are adjusting to what the country is now feeling as the "new normal." Take care of yourself and those around you. You'll be hearing from me again soon.
All my best,
Dean Lively