Undergraduates abroad Fall 2020 will not be paid for hourly wage jobs
Waitz wrote that MIT can only pay undergraduates living abroad by stipend and not hourly wages due to “international tax and compliance issues.”
FSILGs adapt recruitment to virtual semester
The Interfraternity Council (IFC) will postpone formal recruitment until spring while the Panhellenic Association (Panhel) will hold virtual recruitment in the fall.
New Title IX policy includes cross-examination during hearing, required by federal regulations
The new procedure, in compliance with federal regulations, requires that formal Title IX complaints be addressed in a live hearing, chaired by outside legal professionals and including cross-examinations of the complainant, respondent, and witnesses.
Fall Emergency Academic Regulations discourage use of third-party online proctoring
According to the regulations, the “statement of required work” must contain a list of assignments, an “approximate” schedule with test dates and deadlines, final examination information, and grading criteria.
First-Year Orientation, FPOPs to be held virtually
Incoming first years will “meet with their first year advisor throughout the week to discuss academic options” and register for classes.
MIT presents reopening plans at Cambridge City Council committee meeting
Gallop described MIT’s plans as “cautious and conservative” and “aligned with guidance” from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
MIT becomes only QuestBridge partner with non-binding admission
For all QuestBridge partners but MIT, students are required to attend their match school. The other three schools that had non-binding policies last year — Princeton, Stanford, and Yale — recently changed their policies to be binding.
Massachusetts implements COVID-19 travel order for out-of-state visitors
MIT Medical Director Cecilia Stuopis wrote in an email to The Tech that the travel order will not affect the move-in process for students returning to campus since the Institute “had already planned for all students to be tested upon returning to campus.”
2.009 to be replaced with abridged 2.s009 in Fall 2020
2.s009 will “follow an abbreviated version of the product development process used in 2.009,” and “teams will develop products inspired by a very open-ended theme,” the department wrote.
DSL releases Fall 2020 on-campus COVID-19 policies
Pods will allow groups of up to six students in the same residence hall “to socialize in certain settings that do not require 6 feet physical distancing” or face coverings.
87 first-year students opt for gap year
“Typically, between 10 and 15 students will defer in a given year,” Schmill wrote in the email, but given the “higher than expected number of admitted students” who chose to accept their offers of admission, the Class of 2024 will end up being of “similar size to other classes.”
Advanced Standing Exams and math diagnostic to be administered online using proctoring software
Fall ASEs and the math diagnostic typically take place on campus during orientation week. Rajagopal wrote that the decision to move the exam dates up was to ensure the start of the semester was “less hectic for students.”
MIT to implement new campus visitor policy Fall 2020
To maintain low on-campus population density, “visitor access to campus will be significantly limited and discouraged through the end of 2020.”
About 900 undergraduates will live on campus in fall
Approximately 900 undergraduates — about 700 seniors and 200 first years, sophomores, and juniors — plan to live on campus in the fall. All undergraduate dorms except Burton-Conner will be open in the fall.
New international students with F-1 visas cannot enter US for fully-online coursework
A DHS July 24 broadcast message writes that the March guidance “applies to nonimmigrant students who were actively enrolled at a U.S. school on March 9, 2020.” ISO interpreted the message and accompanying FAQ in its update for new international students.
Task Force 2021 and Beyond discusses its goals and organization during forum
Ironside said that the task force’s goal is to develop a “blueprint for a better and stronger” post-COVID-19 MIT “through broad community engagement and thorough analysis.” Reif added that the task force does not “wait for the future to happen to us” but instead hopes to “create the future we want for us.”
FLI students drive revisions to Fall 2020 financial aid
FLI leaders Eleane Lema ‘21 and Tanner Bonner ‘22 wrote in an email to The Tech that the original distribution of the grant “directly excluded low-income students” because only students with an EFC greater than $5,000 were eligible to receive the full grant.
UA-led BLM fundraiser matches over $25,000 in donations to five organizations
As of press time, the UA has received receipts from 138 donations, totaling $27,000, from students, alumni, staff, and faculty.
Administrators hold town hall to discuss recent Fall 2020 decisions
Barnhart said that she was “confident” that even “if conditions do not get better,” the plan to invite all first years, sophomores, and juniors on-campus in the spring can “remain intact.”
Fall on-campus undergraduate housing form opens
The form asks students to indicate their housing intentions for the fall, their residence hall and rooming preferences, and their preferred move-in date and time.