Remote Notes
This webpage is a clearinghouse of information, links, and resources for BUA remote learning and student life. Below, you will find technology tips and tricks; student support resources; a running list of upcoming virtual events and remote student activities and club meetings; quick links to Zoom meetings, and more. This page will be updated with new information in real time, and a round-up of all new information will be communicated to students and families in our weekly Remote Notes e-newsletter.
Academic Updates:
On May 28, Interim Head of School Dr. Rosemary White and Incoming Head of School Mr. Chris Kolovos shared a letter to the BUA community regarding reentry planning for fall 2020. In that letter, Dr. White and Mr. Kolovos announced the formation of a BUA Reentry Task Force, and outlined various scenarios for the return to in-person learning in the fall of 2020. That communication is available here. In an article in the June 1 edition of BU Today, BU released its own reentry plan for fall 2020, entitled Learning from Anywhere (LFA). Under LFA, undergraduate and graduate students may opt to attend classes in person or remotely, depending on their comfort level, class size, and ability to return to campus. The Learning from Anywhere option will apply to BUA students enrolled in BU courses. The BUA Reentry Task Force may recommend a similar policy for BUA classes, and we will be in close communication with you over the summer to share plans for the fall as they are determined.Reentry Planning for Fall 2020
As long as students remain engaged and committed to their studies, BUA will not allow the online learning format of the last quarter to lower their grades. Students in Boston University classes will be graded by their professors according to the policies of the University. There is, however, a special credit/no credit option in place for the spring 2020 semester; BUA’s one-semester courses (MA95 and EN90) will also follow this policy this spring. Families may review the BUA policy on the credit/no credit option here. The BUA arts and physical education departments will assign year-end grades as Pass/Fail (P/F) for their ninth and tenth grade required courses, instead of assigning letter grades.Spring 2020 Grading Policies
In response to the move to remote learning, Boston University has announced that it will adopt special grading policies for the 2020 spring semester. Per the new policy, BUA students who are currently taking BU courses will be able to choose between keeping their letter grade in each class and a Credit/No Credit option. The decision to choose between keeping a letter grade and a Credit/No Credit option is a highly individualized one. Students who remain in good health and are able to engage in online classes to the best of their ability are encouraged to keep their letter grade. However given the extenuating circumstances, some students may have a compelling reason to choose the Credit/No Credit option. BUA students are required to consult with a member of the college counseling team if they are considering the Credit/No Credit option for any of their BU courses. Whereafter a formal request for Credit/No Credit designation must be emailed to erevans@bu.edu (with a parent/guardian copied for approval) by May 14.Special Grading Policy for BU Coursework
Standardized Testing Updates
Boston University has decided to cancel all in-person summer activities on the Charles River Campus, and with exceptions, at the Medical Campus, and offer classes remotely for 2020 Summer Sessions 1 and 2. Both summer terms, Session 1 (May 20–July 1, 2020) and Session 2 (July 6–August 14, 2020), will occur only through remote engagement. No in-person courses or programs will be offered during this time period. This announcement was made in an April 7 letter to the community from Robert A. Brown, BU president, and Jean Morrison, provost and chief academic officer.BU Summer Term Updates
Students should refer to Ms. Evans’s email from Sunday, March 15 for grade-specific directions for submitting your course registration form via email.Course Registration and Senior Thesis Proposals
Student and Family Resources:
Graduate students from BU’s Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders (CARD) are now rolling out a series of workshops to help adolescents cope with the anxiety and upheaval associated with the coronavirus. The three-session workshop will focus both on worries about the disease itself, as well as dealing with all of the disruptions (e.g., being stuck at home, social isolation, remote learning, etc.). Fees for the workshop are based on a sliding scale that takes into account annual household income and number of dependents. Learn more here.Coping with Covid Workshop
Wellness Resources
BUA students, teachers and administrators are eligible for free digital access to The New York Times (nytimes.com or the New York Times app) from now through July 6, 2020. In order for students to take advantage of this offer, a student/parent/guardian must provide written consent for BUA to share the student’s email with the Times. Those who are interested in participating will need to complete an online consent form.Free Digital Access to the New York Times
Student Clubs and Activities:
The following opportunities are currently available to students:
BUA’s Student Council launched its own dedicated Instagram account, @bua_stuco, to promote virtual student activities and clubs, and as a forum for students to keep one another’s spirits up while we aren’t able to be physically together on campus.Student Council
For your quarantine cooking and baking pleasure — the BUA Family Multicultural Cookbook is now available! Thank you to everyone who contributed a recipe! If you make a recipe from this cookbook, feel free to post your creation on social media and tag us @buacademy! BUA Family Multicultural Shared Recipe Book
BUA Book Club’s choice for our May meeting is Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor. All are welcome to join us on Thursday, May 21 at 11:00 a.m. to discuss. Email Dr. Brown to be added to our book club listserv for notifications about the Zoom meeting. Because there are so many great books out there and only so many book club meetings, we also created a shared Google Doc for the BUA community to collect book recommendations. We invite everyone to add their favorites to the list, and hope that you can find some new titles for your own bookshelves here, too!BUA Book Club
Conversations@BUA continues to meet each week on Tuesdays at 11:00 a.m. over Zoom. All students are welcome to join the conversation! The next meeting will take place on Tuesday, May 19, and the topic will be “Essential Workers and Inequality in America.”Conversations@BUA
Introducing the BUA Olympics — students’ chance to compete for the honor of their grade on the grandest of virtual stages. Each fitness challenge thus far been completing represents an event on the Olympic scorecard. Continue logging your miles, squats, and pushups to help win your grade a gold, silver, or bronze medal in that cumulative event when the results are tallied at the end of the school year. Meanwhile, prepare for live Zoom rooms that will host final bouts (last man standing style)! We will celebrate our victorious Olympians on a virtual podium and award them with non-virtual medals on behalf of their grade. Look out for Mr. Stone’s email with the full details and game rules!Fitness Challenge
All students are invited to join the BUA group on Goodreads, a social platform to connect over our shared love of books. Log on, create an account, and search for the group titled “BUA Reading Challenge.”Reading Challenge
Unwind by practicing mindfulness with Dr. Davis on Tuesday nights from 8:00-8:30 p.m. The group will practice for about 20 minutes with the intention of relaxing and unwinding, and then, for whoever wants to, chat afterwards about mindfulness practice during the Age of Zoom. All students, faculty, and family members are welcome to attend. No prior mindfulness is needed. Meditators of all levels of experience welcomed! Join via Zoom here.Community Mindfulness with Dr. Davis
Philosophy Club will take place on Thursday, May 28 at 4:00 p.m. This week Dr. Jesse Hughes (brother-in-law of Lizi Zhang ’20) will speak to the club about the philosophy of logic, particularly the question: what is the epistemological foundation of logic? Zoom link to join here.Philosophy Club
Remote Events and Webinars for Parents & Guardians:
Tuesday, May 5 | 7:30 p.m. Parents/guardians are welcome to join Jenny Brown P’21 for an informal conversation over Zoom about Stephanie Land’s memoir, Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive. “A single mother’s personal, unflinching look at America’s class divide, a description of the tightrope many families walk just to get by, and a reminder of the dignity of all work.” ―President Barack Obama, “Obama’s 2019 Summer Reading List” Upcoming Events and Webinars
BUAPN Book Club Spring Meeting
Click to Join
Tuesday, March 24 | 7:00 p.m.Recordings of Past Events and Webinars
Parent Webinar with Dr. Rosemary White: BUA’s Remote Learning Plan
The recording of the webinar is available here.
Non-Academic or Extracurricular Updates:
Replacement Student Stored Value Cards (S-Cards) Replacement Student Stored Value CharlieCard (S-Cards) have been mailed to all students who had had an active M7 Student CharlieCard Pass as of March 31. The new S-Card will enable the cardholder to receive a 50% “pay-as-you-go” discounted rate on fares in addition to being able to purchase a monthly pass for $30 from now through August 31, 2020. S-Cards can also be added to the mTicket app in order to receive discounted fares for the commuter rail. Those students who receive an MBTA pass as part of their financial aid package can request to have up to $30 cash value preloaded onto their S-Cards. Convenience Points Balance Any Convenience Points balances will be carried over to the 2020-2021 academic year. Refunds can be issued to those students whose balances are greater than $5.00 and who will be graduating or who are not intending to return next year.MBTA Passes and Convenience Points
Unless there are extenuating circumstances, student and family access to the building has been restricted until the stay-at-home advisories from Governor Baker and Mayor Walsh have been lifted; any requests for individual access should be sent to academy@bu.edu, although families should be aware that BUA faculty/staff are not regularly staffing the building. For students who have items remaining in their lockers: those items left at BUA are safe and can remain in individual lockers until we receive further notice from the University that on-campus activities are permitted. Please be aware that student swipe-card access has been disabled; all visitors will need to ring into the building from the front door.BUA Building Access
We recognize that many families will feel a financial impact as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. If you feel that your family is in extreme financial distress, please contact Director of Financial Aid Paige Brewster (617-358-3440; Brewster@bu.edu).Financial Assistance due to COVID-19
We have made the decision to cancel those spring events that would not be easily replicable in a virtual setting. Many students and families will be deeply disappointed not to be celebrating these traditions together; likewise, it is difficult for BUA teachers and staff not to be able to host these events for our community this year. Nevertheless, we are committed to recreating the warm and celebratory spirit of these events to the best of our ability. The status of each year-end event is as follows:Year-End Events