Dear EMS Students,
We hope you had a great break, and we are very happy to welcome you back for the spring semester!
Some of your courses may be starting with remote instruction. Instructors have the option to do this for a limited time, and they should let you know either by email or through a Canvas announcement. Please be sure to read your email and check Canvas before Monday so you know which courses are starting in person and so you know how to access any that will be remote.
The Ryan Family Student Center (RFSC) will be open for your use, but with the recent rise in COVID cases, we will be limiting our in-person staffing and in-person services. However, we are confident that we can still provide excellent support! For the month of January, advising, writing tutoring, and student engagement meetings will be available over zoom. Please see the instructions below for accessing these remote services. We will reinstitute the virtual RFSC (vRFSC), which is a Zoom room where you can access an adviser during drop-in advising hours. Given the sensitive nature of advising conversations, we encourage you to access advising from your home or residence hall room, rather than coming to the RFSC to Zoom. We have limited options for providing private space for these remote conversations.
You are welcome to use the RFSC, but masking will be more important than ever and will be strictly enforced for the health and safety of everyone. Students who do not comply with masking will be asked to leave. Evidence shows that N95 and KN95 masks are most effective; for tips on improving the effectiveness of other masks, please see this CDC guidance. As in the fall, absolutely no food consumption is allowed in the RFSC. As is customary, the RFSC will not have evening hours during the first week of classes and will close at 5 pm. We will assess the viability of evening hours beyond the first week and will let you know our plans. As always, information will be updated in the EMS Undergraduate Canvas 2021-2022 site.
We hope that your spring semester gets off to a great start. We are here to support you!
All the best,
Dr. Richardson and the RFSC faculty and staff
Accessing an adviser:
Drop-in Hours for add/drop Week
If you want to schedule an appointment, starting after the first week of classes, please call 814-863-2751. Appointments are appropriate for discussing change of major, schedule planning, ROTC forms, academic warning, re-enrollment, global programs support, and withdrawal.
Accessing the RFSC graduate writing tutor drop-in hours (all semester):
Mondays and Wednesdays, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. EST on Zoom
During your one-on-one session, please be prepared to share your documents for us to answer your questions and give you strategies for your revision.
Accessing Student Engagement (Karen Marosi):
Office hours Tuesday 9:00-11:00 am, Wednesday 6:30-8:00 pm and Thursday 2:00-4:30 pm on Zoom
You can make an appointment in Starfish here or email karen.marosi@psu.edu
To access virtual appointments, please go to https://psu.zoom.us/j/5704194656