Dear Howard University Community,

As we continue to address the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on our academic community, the following updates are provided:

Senior Exams 

To help to mitigate the impact of the crisis, final examinations for prospective Spring graduates will be scheduled in conjunction with the exams for all students (Wednesday, April 29, 2020 – Tuesday, May 5, 2020).

Update Regarding Pass/Fail Default

The deadline for undergraduate students to submit a request to retain letter grades for Spring, 2020 courses was Monday, April 13, 2020. Over 5,600 undergraduate students submitted requests to maintain the letter grade format. This represented well over 85% of undergraduate students who opted not to participate in the Pass/Fail default for some, or all of their courses.

Grade Submission

It will be critically important that grades for all students (undergraduate, graduate, and professional) be submitted timely to facilitate processing in the Office of the Registrar. Timely submission of grades will also be extremely important on behalf of graduating students regarding employment, residency and graduate school opportunities.

Counseling

We are aware that the end of an academic year can be a stressful time for students, faculty and staff. This is particularly the case this year as we navigate the effects of COVID-19. If you would like to access mental health services, additional counselors are available in the University Counseling Center, and can be reached at 202-806-6870 (9:00am-4:00pm). The after-hour crisis line is 202-345-6709 (after 6:00pm). The student telehealth mental health provider is "BetterHelp." Please contact them at telehealth4students.com, or via phone at 855-870-5858.

Additionally, Optum has opened its Emotional-Support Help Line, providing access to specially trained mental health specialists to support people who may be experiencing anxiety or stress following the recent developments around COVID-19. Optum’s toll-free help line number, 866-342-6892, will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for as long as necessary. The service is free of charge and open to anyone.

As we approach the end of the academic year, I want to thank each of you for your cooperation, patience and support through a very challenging period. We appreciate the difficulty that our faculty, students and staff are facing, and we are here to support each other. We are a resilient community of scholars, and we will get through this challenge together. God bless.

Excellence in Truth and Service,


Anthony K. Wutoh, Ph.D., R.Ph.
Provost and Chief Academic Officer