Return to Campus FAQ

STHM is offering three course types or instructional methods in fall term: online, in-person, and hybrid. STHM online courses, which will be labeled as virtual with required meeting times on student schedules, will meet at an assigned synchronous time via Zoom. In-person courses, such as many of our writing intensive courses, will meet each assigned class day in a classroom in Alter or Speakman Halls. Hybrid courses will alternate between in-person and online sessions. For hybrid courses, students will typically be assigned one day a week to attend in person, while the students not in-person would be expected to be online via Zoom or other method at the assigned class day/time.

STHM prioritizes seniors for students on wait lists to ensure they can graduate on time as scheduled. In the coming weeks, senior students will be moved off the wait lists into a designated course section and other students will be moved if course space exists. For sections of courses that meet at the same time (such as senior capstone courses), it is likely that all wait listed students will be moved into one particular section.

Students can now search by course type in TU Portal/ Banner for their preferred course meeting type. Over the next several weeks, we anticipate heightened drop/ add course activity so we encourage students to regularly check the course offerings schedule and find an open spot or potentially wait list themselves for an in-person course that meets their academic requirements. However, in-person courses may not be available for particular required courses and some students may ultimately only have all online courses in fall term.

Temple faculty have been instructed to support students who need to be fully online in fall term. If you are designated to take an STHM in-person course, but need to be online, we encourage you to reach out to your academic advisor to inform them of your plans and needs. If you are enrolled in an in-person course outside of STHM, we encourage you to reach out to your professor before the start of fall term to let them know. If you are a student with a diagnosed disability, please also reach out to the Disability Resource and Services Office to ensure you receive the education accommodations you need.

For hybrid classes, students were randomly assigned to a particular day of the week. Because of the volume of potential change requests, we are not able to accommodate such changes. Also, students will need to attend class (or be online) on their assigned day and may not swap with another student in order to effectively manage contact tracing purposes in the event of a COVID-19 outbreak in a particular course.

In the event of illness or the need to self-isolate/quarantine, students will be able to complete their courses online/ remotely depending on the particular requirements of each course. You should contact your instructors for each course. Students should also reach out to the Student Health Services regarding their illness and/or to seek treatment. If a student finds themself unable to engage in a course remotely because of their illness they should work with their academic advisor and faculty to determine other options such as a medical withdrawal or course Incomplete.

Students should contact their academic advisor to determine if a leave of absence is in their best interest and what the potential academic and financial implications may be.

Deferrals would not allow students to enroll in other institutions including community colleges while on a deferral. If you’d like to defer your admission, you can fill out the deferred enrollment form in TU Portal.

If a new student doesn’t wish to defer, but instead wants to enroll in a community college and transfer to Temple at a later date, they would need to reapply as a transfer student in the future. Students would also need to be re-evaluated for financial aid, including but not limited to merit and school-based scholarships, as a transfer student. If you are an incoming student who already registered for courses, you’ll need to drop those before the Add/Drop deadline.

New students who are interested in discussing your options and the implications of deferring or transferring should schedule a meeting with the Enrollment team. If you decide to defer or transfer, we want to help make sure you’re on track for when you do come to Temple.

For returning international students, updated information from the U.S. government allows for continuing international students to enroll in all online courses. Information and updates are still being evaluated for new international students to ensure visa compliance. STHM Center for Student Services (CSS) will assist students in finding in-person courses if required.

STHM recently revised assigned advising caseloads. You can find the new advising assignments in the CSS Canvas site and the STHM CSS webpage. Because of the need to socially distance by maintaining six feet apart, advisors are not able to meet with students in person in their Speakman offices. Therefore, all academic advising appointments will still take place virtually via group and individual sessions via Zoom. We anticipate that one academic advisor will be available in Speakman Hall after August 24 for emergency student needs.

At this time, it is not known what the course offerings or instructional types will be for spring semester. Temple must follow the guidance by the Pennsylvania governor, the mayor of Philadelphia, and CDC guidelines regarding social distancing and managing against virus outbreaks.

Students who have not met the minimum requirement for industry hours, or those whose plans to complete industry hours over the summer were interrupted by COVID-19, will be permitted to participate in the fall 2020 senior seminar course. Students who have not met the industry hour requirement are to schedule an appointment to speak with the CSPD to identify a plan of action and alternate ways in which they can satisfy the industry hour expectation during the fall semester.

Students are encouraged to utilize all resources, in addition to those provided by the CSPD, to secure an internship for the fall.
However, undergraduate students who are unable to finalize an internship, based on your academic requirements, will be provided various and alternate courses/options to satisfy the internship requirement towards degree completion. Academic guidance regarding course options and alternatives will be provided by the CSS by July 20.

Students who have additional questions about their upcoming fall 2020 internship experience, are advised to contact the CSPD directly.

STHM is offering three course types or instructional methods in fall term: online, in-person, and hybrid. STHM online courses, which will be labeled as virtual with required meeting times on student schedules, will meet at an assigned synchronous time via Zoom. In-person courses, such as many of our writing intensive courses, will meet each assigned class day in a classroom in Alter or Speakman Halls. Hybrid courses will alternate between in-person and online sessions. For hybrid courses, students will typically be assigned one day a week to attend in person, or for graduate students in alternating weeks, while the students not in-person would be expected to be online via Zoom or other method at the assigned class day/time.

If there are no spaces available in an STHM graduate class, sign up to be placed on the waitlist and then email your academic advisor to inform them of the situation.

Students can now search by course type in TU Portal/ Banner for their preferred course meeting type. Over the next several weeks, we anticipate heightened drop/ add course activity so we encourage students to regularly check the course offerings schedule and find an open spot or potentially wait list themselves for an in-person course that meets their academic requirements. However, in-person courses may not be available for particular required courses and some students may ultimately only have all online courses in fall term.

Temple faculty have been instructed to support students who need to be fully online in fall term. If you are designated to take an STHM in-person course, but need to be online, we encourage you to reach out to your academic advisor to inform them of your plans and needs. If you are enrolled in an in-person course outside of STHM, we encourage you to reach out to your professor before the start of fall term to let them know. If you are a student with a diagnosed disability, please also reach out to the Disability Resource and Services Office to ensure you receive the education accommodations you need.

For hybrid classes, students were randomly assigned to a particular week to attend. Because of the volume of potential change requests, we are not able to accommodate such changes. Also, students will need to attend class (or be online) on their assigned week and may not swap with another student in order to effectively manage contact tracing purposes in the event of a COVID-19 outbreak in a particular course.

In the event of illness or the need to self-isolate/quarantine, students will be able to complete their courses online/ remotely depending on the particular requirements of each course. You should contact your instructors for each course. Students should also reach out to the Student Health Services regarding their illness and/or to seek treatment. If a student finds themself unable to engage in a course remotely because of their illness they should work with their academic advisor and faculty to determine other options such as a medical withdrawal or course Incomplete.

Students should contact their academic advisor to determine if a leave of absence is in their best interest and what the potential academic and financial implications may be.

Students who choose to defer would also need to be re-evaluated for financial aid, including but not limited to merit and school-based scholarships. If you are an incoming student who already registered for courses, you’ll need to drop those before the Add/Drop deadline.

For returning international students, updated information from the U.S. government allows for continuing international students to enroll in all online courses.

STHM recently revised assigned advising caseloads. You can find the new advising assignments in the CSS Canvas site and the STHM CSS webpage. Because of the need to socially distance by maintaining six feet apart, advisors are not able to meet with students in person in their Speakman offices. Therefore, all academic advising appointments will still take place virtually via group and individual sessions via Zoom. We anticipate that one academic advisor will be available in Speakman Hall after August 24 for emergency student needs.

At this time, it is not known what the course offerings or instructional types will be for spring semester. Temple must follow the guidance by the Pennsylvania governor, the mayor of Philadelphia, and CDC guidelines regarding social distancing and managing against virus outbreaks.

Students are encouraged to utilize all resources, in addition to those provided by the CSPD, to secure an internship for the fall.
Graduate students are encouraged to contact their program’s Academic Director and their student advisor to discuss options to satisfy their program’s internship requirements for degree completion.