Recent Program Features

Dear international students,

We wish you continued strength and perseverance as we move through this crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

In our efforts to support our international students, we have made funds available for international students who worked for SODEXO during the Spring 2020 semester to continue as student workers on an alternative online university-project through the library for the remainder of the semester.  

This online work assignment involves students, under supervision of a new university supervisor, collecting stories of individuals as they experience the COVID-19 pandemic. This project is organized by the Library and student workers will be trained to do their work assignment. 

Each student employee can expect 8-10 hours of work, per week, starting on April 13 (or thereafter) until the end of finals week. Student workers can work from home, whether it is here in Mankato or elsewhere.

If you would like to participate in this remote work opportunity:

• review the project website to learn more about the project
• sign up using this link: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=xscRULQKq0ae9PrnSpIaf76_gOJSFp1PoB3SFhDTD6NUQzgwWkpHUlpPTFRGUkJYTUpINTIxNVBEWi4u
• Questions, please contact Interim Dean Dahlman at anne.dahlman@mnsu.edu

If you’ve already signed up for the project, there’s no need to do so again.

Please stay strong and keep supporting one another. We will get through this together.

Sincerely,

Richard Davenport
President

Greetings!

I hope this message finds you well and healthy. I know many of you are anticipating the nice weather this weekend, and I hope you are able to enjoy some much deserved rest and relaxation.

Tonight, I want to provide you with three important updates:

1. What does the Governor’s extended stay-at-home order mean for Minnesota State University, Mankato?
2. What plans have been made for Summer instruction and orientation?
3. What plans have been made for Spring 2020 commencement?

As many of you are aware, Governor Walz extended the Stay at Home order through May 3, 2020, and the Peacetime Emergency Order until May 13, 2020. This does not change current operations at Minnesota State Mankato. As part of the Minnesota State system, the University is an ‘essential service’ that remains open, while following social distancing guidelines and teleworking as much as possible. Therefore, please continue to work from home or report to work at the University as directed by your supervisor. We will continue to communicate with you as new information develops.

As communicated on Monday by Provost Cecil, summer session instruction will be conducted online only. I echo his sentiments and thank our faculty, staff and deans for their continued hard work to transition and offer courses to meet our students’ needs during this time.

Due to the uncertainty of social distancing recommendations or additional stay at home orders, the new student and transfer student orientation programs scheduled for this summer will also move to an online format. You can learn more here: https://mankato.mnsu.edu/orientation. This change provides certainty for new incoming students as they plan their summers and allows us to pivot our orientation and registration approaches while utilizing technology to provide a personalized onboarding experience. The Office of New Student and Family Programs, Division of Student Success, Analytics and Integrated Planning, and IT Solutions will work together to provide a seamless experience for our new students.

Finally, you may recall from my March 13 update that we made the difficult decision to cancel our spring commencement ceremonies. This does not mean we are going to let May 9 go by without recognizing our graduates! We have a group of talented and creative people working hard to provide an alternative commencement experience and special recognition for these graduates. In addition, graduates will all be invited to participate in the in-person commencement ceremonies scheduled for December 2020. While we don’t want to give-away the big surprise, know that a special communication plan has been put in place to share the news with the students over the next few weeks. We encourage you to engage with our graduates on May 9 on our new www.mnsu.edu/MavGrad2020 webpage..

These initiatives are further examples of the heavy lifts that are only made possible by the tremendous quality of our staff, faculty and leaders. Thank you all for everything you are doing to support our students during this difficult time. Please take care of yourselves and continue to stay safe and healthy.

Sincerely,

Richard Davenport
President

Parking Permit Refunds to Students

On March 27, 2020, University President Davenport's Cabinet approved $193,000 worth of parking permit refunds to students for the two months affected by this COVID-19 Pandemic which led to classes being taught through distance learning for part of March, all of April, and a week into May. Individual refunds will first be applied to any outstanding charges on a student’s account, and if charges are already cleared, refunds will be posted as an automatic deposit or mailed as a check.

We are excited for you to become a Maverick this fall! Due to the uncertainty of social distancing recommendations, we have made the decision to move the summer new student and transfer student orientation programs to an online format this year.

Your orientation experience is an important aspect to your transition to Minnesota State, Mankato and we will provide you with the resources that you need to start as a Maverick by keeping you informed, connected, and on a path to success. Rather than coming to campus this summer, students will complete online modules using our online learning platform. Families will also have an opportunity to participate in virtual gatherings and presentations to learn about campus resources and how to help their student transition to the University.

The online orientation will launch on May 18, 2020 and students may complete it when it is convenient for them. Orientation staff will engage with incoming students throughout the summer in a variety of virtual activities to connect incoming students with each other and the campus. After students complete the online orientation module, they will be eligible for advising and registration. Details regarding advising and registration will be provided when students complete the online orientation.

We have a rich tradition of a Welcome Week just prior to the start of classes and this will be further enhanced to focus on building connections and catch up on information not covered in the online orientation.

In order to participate you must sign up for an orientation session on our website. The Maverick Online Orientation program will be offered at a discounted rate of $75. There will be no charge for families to participate in virtual family orientation information sessions.

We are excited to learn more about you, share more about Minnesota State Mankato, and help you launch your Maverick career! Please let us know if you have questions by emailing us at newstudent@mnsu.edu.

Sincerely,

Jeremy Riesenberg, Assistant Director for Orientation and Transition Programs

Nikki Stock, Director of New Student and Family Programs