It's most likely that you've already received the information below directly from the VA, but we wanted to share it here just in case.

The Maryland Higher Education Commission (our State Approving Authority) has also released a statement, which is attached.

We encourage you to contact either the registrars office or the VA directly if you have questions about your individual situation. If/when we hear anything from UMBC we'll pass it along ASAP.

Thanks,

RetrieVets Officers

Dear GI Bill Student,

Schools across the country are in the process of or have already moved from in-person courses to online courses in the interest of public health due to COVID-19 concerns. For GI Bill students, this change in training modality raises questions and concerns about the impact to their GI Bill benefits and importantly, housing allowances.

What is the impact, if any, to GI Bill recipients when their schools are either closed or has directed their students to take classes online as a result of precautions taken due to COVID-19?

The answer will depend on the type of action taken by the school, the timing of the action, and the current program approval.

• If a school temporarily closes due to an established policy based on an Executive order of the President or due to an emergency situation, VA may continue benefit payments (including the Monthly Housing Allowance under the Post-9/11 GI Bill) for up to 4 weeks during a 12-month period.  This authority, and limitation, are codified in statute (38 U.S.C. § 3680(a)(2)(A).
• If the school remains open (virtually, rather than physically), and students are transitioned to pursuit solely through online classes, then benefit payments will be impacted as follows:
• If the switch from training in-residence to online classes occurs during the term, and the program has been approved by the State Approving Agency for delivery through an online modality, then benefit payments (including the Monthly Housing Allowance under the Post-9/11 GI Bill) will remain unchanged for the remainder of that term.
• However, for any subsequent terms pursued solely online, the Monthly Housing Allowance (MHA) under the Post-9/11 GI Bill will be reduced to one-half of the national average of DoD’s Basic Allowance for Housing rates for an E-5 with dependents.  The limitations on MHA rates are codified in statute (38 U.S.C. § 3313(c)(1)(B)(iii).
• Lastly, if the program has not been approved by the State Approving Agency for delivery through an online modality, benefit payments will completely stop (including the Monthly Housing Allowance under the Post-9/11 GI Bill) when students begin training online. 

 If you have questions about your specific circumstance, please contact the Education Call Center at: 1-888-442-4551 between 8 AM and 7 PM Eastern Time, Monday-Friday.

Please click here to view the full message from OFECP regarding Internship guidelines and information. 

We are, as per University protocols, preparing to move online. We are currently testing a range of technologies and will be contacting students via email in all INDS classes with detailed information before the end of Spring Break.

For advising and other meetings, please wait for an INDS staff member to reach out to you via email.

If you have any other questions, please reach out to us!

To keep updated with this evolving situation, visit UMBC COVID-19 Status Webpage.

If units need a new project number set up in People Soft the request should first come to OSP for entry into Kuali.  OSP will establish a child account in Kuali and then notify OCGA to set up the new project number.

If you have any question please contact your OSP contact.

NSF has just released information on caronavirus.  While this does no address every question we might have, it is what is available.  As other agencies release information we will make it available here.

https://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/coronavirus/

All Library & Gallery events are canceled until at least April 6, per University policy. 

For research assistance, we encourage our users to contact us via email or our Ask a Librarian chat service.

Students and instructors with materials on course reserve:  some physical reserves materials may be available in our catalog as e-books, on sites that allow streaming of media items, or are accessible via the public domain. If the item is not available electronically, the Reserves (or ILL) staff, upon request, may be able to digitize assigned readings from items on Course Reserves and post to Blackboard. We are unable to reproduce content from a disc. Please allow a minimum of five business days for requests to digitize course materials. Staff will prioritize requests by the assignment due date whenever possible.

For requests to digitize course readings, please obtain the name and number of the course and share the digital copy with the Reserves staff (reserves-group@umbc.edu).

For inquiries regarding due dates and fines, nothing will become due from Sunday March 15th through Sunday March 22nd.  All USM libraries will be lenient with fines if campuses close post March 22nd. Note that some short-term loan items may become due whenever the owning library is open.  Patrons do need to be mindful of honoring such due dates – i.e. course reserves, and media items and equipment.

Unfortunately, because of the concerns about the public health of the university and its students, retreat has been cancelled. In the mean time, please take care of yourselves and practice good hygiene! 

As the university is moving forward with plans related to COVID-19, the OPRC staff reminds investigators to be careful and respectful of participants who decide to be involved in human subjects research, be vigilant about creating any new risks and submit promptly (within 5 days) any modifications necessary to revise applications and consent documents. 

Our office is actively monitoring the email inbox (irbsubmissions@umbc.edu) for protocol related questions and submissions as well as our office phone (410-455-2737).  Please review the ORPC business continuity plan for additional steps to complete IRB review. 

If you have any other questions, please contact us at compliance@umbc.edu

Our office has received several information requests about using virtual/online formats to take the place of previously planned (and IRB approved) in-person interviews conducted outside of campus. Use of such formats may be useful to PIs to conduct human subjects use research during the COVID-19 event.