Updated June 1, 2020

BC Community FAQ

Q. Are there any confirmed cases of COVID-19 on the BC campus?

A.  Currently, there is 1 student in isolation at Boston College and 1 student in quarantine.

Q. Did students receive refunds for their room and board charges?

A. Yes. Students who left campus in March to return home have received reimbursements for room and board charges that were credited to their accounts by March 25. Contact the Office of Student Services with questions.

Q. Will students receive a tuition refund? 

A.  No. Classes will continue to be held for the remainder of the semester, but in an online environment.

Q. Will students receive full academic credit for their remote coursework?

A. Yes.

Q. Has the University modified its academic policies this semester regarding course withdrawals and Pass/Fail?

A. Yes.

1. The deadline to drop a course this semester is 12 noon on Thursday, April 9 (US Eastern Daylight Time). Any requests to drop a course after 12 noon on Thursday, April 9 (EDT) will be treated as an application for a withdrawal.*

2. The deadline to withdraw from a course this semester is 12 noon on Thursday, April 30 (US Eastern Daylight Time).*

*All undergraduate students are expected to maintain full-time status (12 credits or more). If your decision to drop or withdraw from courses will cause you to fall below full-time status, please consult your academic dean, financial aid counselor (where appropriate), and advisor before doing so.

3. We are making changes to our existing Pass/Fail policy that will be in effect for this semester. More details will follow in communications from Student Services and from individual school’s deans. Please note the exceptions that apply to the Connell School of Nursing and the Law School as indicated in #4 and #5 below.  At this time, we can announce the following changes:

a. Students will be allowed to designate a course Pass/Fail beginning on Thursday, April 9. The deadline for designating a course Pass/Fail is 12 noon on Thursday, April 30 (US Eastern Daylight Time).

b. The limit on the number of courses that can be taken Pass/Fail in a single semester is suspended for this semester.

c. Undergraduate courses taken Pass/Fail this semester will not count towards the University’s maximum six-course limit on the total number of courses that can be taken Pass/Fail for credit towards a degree. 

d. The prohibition on taking a course that is required for core, corequisite, major or minor credit as Pass/Fail is suspended for this semester, and a student can elect to take any such courses as Pass/Fail. 

e. Carroll School of Management and Woods College of Advancing Studies courses, as well as study abroad courses, may be taken as Pass/Fail for this semester.

f. The prohibition on taking a course to satisfy a school’s foreign-language requirement on a Pass/Fail basis is lifted for this semester.

g. Consistent with existing policy, an undergraduate student who earns a grade of D- or higher will receive a grade of Pass for the course.

h. A grade of Pass will not count towards the GPA calculation, but a Failing grade will.

4. Due to licensing requirements, the policy changes specified in #3 above regarding Pass/Fail do not apply to the following courses: BIOL1320/1330, HLTH 2206, MATH1180, NURS2070, NURS2205, NURS2230, NURS3242, NURS3244, NURS4250, NURS4252, NURS4260, NURS6460, NURS6468, NURS6470, NURS7490, NURS7491, NURS7592, NURS7593, NURS7693. These courses cannot be taken Pass/Fail.

5. All Law School classes will be graded on a Pass/Fail basis.

Q. Will final exams be held?

A. Yes, final exams will be held remotely.

Student Services will be publishing the Final Exam schedule by the end of March.  If your instructor is giving a synchronous final exam, it will be conducted at the normally scheduled time, and students should review the schedule to determine the timing of their finals.  Check with your instructor as to the type of final exam that will be given.  We will notify students and faculty once the schedule is published; as always, students with conflicts should be in touch with their faculty members to make alternate arrangements. 

Q. What will happen to Commencement?

A. On April 8, University President William P. Leahy, S.J., provided an update on the 2020 Commencement in a letter to students who were scheduled to graduate on May 18.

Q. Did BC grant exceptions to students who needed to remain on campus, due to international travel restrictions or who have personal issues?

A. Yes. Exceptions to the move-out policy were made on a case-by-case basis. 

Q. Has a decision been made on the Housing Selection Process?

A. The Housing Selection Process began on Wednesday March 25. Contact Residential Life with questions.

Q. Will undergraduate students who have hourly positions be paid for the remainder of the Spring semester? 

 A.  Pending approval from a supervisor, undergraduate student employees who have been permitted to work on campus, off campus, or remotely through Boston College will continue to be paid.  Students in both Work Study and campus affiliated non-Work Study positions will be compensated through Boston College funding.

Because Boston College's 2019-2020 allotment of Federal Work Study funds has been fully utilized at this time, students who have not been approved to continue working will not be paid for the remainder of the Spring semester. 

Students who are not able to continue a job, and concerned about meeting current expenses, should contact their financial aid advisor.  

Q. What is the status of funded doctoral students on University stipends?

A.  Fully funded graduate students will maintain their stipends and benefits throughout this period.  

Q.  Will graduate students who have hourly positions on campus be paid for the remainder of the Spring semester?

A. The University will pay hourly employees and students - including graduate students - for work that they actually perform.  This work may be on site or remote to support an essential University operation to maintain services to students as they participate in classes.  This also includes supporting the ongoing research and administrative support necessary to maintain essential University operations.  The University has been working and will continue to work with units across academic affairs and elsewhere in the administration to support graduate students who provide service---whether on campus or remotely---on an hourly basis for the remainder of the academic year. 

Q. What is the status of RDs and RAs after March 15?

A. RDs will continue to work in residence halls to oversee those students who will be granted exceptions to remain on campus. RAs have been given the option to stay or return home after March 15.

Q. How will students who rented books return them at the end of the semester?

A. Book rentals can be returned by mail at the end of the semester. Rental textbooks upon return are not refunded; rather, rental books are “checked in” by specific due date to avoid the full book price being charged to the student. 

Q. Will nursing students be able to continue their clinical work?

A. The Massachusetts State Board of Nursing has assured us that virtual clinical will count in lieu of clinical hours if course faculty (from schools with Board Approval such as BC) can assure that all competencies have been met. Virtual simulations are now being used in all clinical courses for prelicensure students and clinical faculty and the Associate Deans are working with students individually who might be in danger of not meeting requirements.

For graduate students all specialties are requiring direct patient care hours and plans are being made for when and how these direct patient care hours can be met.

Q. Will students who receive financial aid lose their federal eligibility?

A. As long as students continue their course work and maintain at least half-time status, they will still be eligible for federal aid.

Q. What are the hours of operation for McElroy Commons?

A. Carney’s Dining Hall in McElroy Commons: 8:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m., 7 days a week.

Effective March 17, in compliance with Governor Baker's emergency order, BC Dining will serve food to-go and monitor the number of customers in dining locations so as not exceed the limit of 25 people. 

Q. What resources will be available from ITS to students and during the transition to remote learning?

A. Tips For Learning Through Disruptions

Web page for connecting to BC resources: www.bc.edu/workoffcampus

Get Help

Contact the BC ITS Technology Help Center

• Call: 617-552-HELP (4357)  
• help.center@bc.edu
• Connect to Live Tech Support Chat: bc.edu/techchat

Extended Hours

To assist students and faculty with the transition to online classes, we have expanded our technology support hours:

• Monday - Thursday: 8:00 am - 9:00 pm
• Friday: 8:00 am - 6:00 pm
• Saturday/Sunday: 9:00 am - 4:00 pm

Stay Up-To-Date

• Updates on technology services and unplanned outages: 
  • Follow @BostonCollegeIT on Twitter
• bc.edu/help
• University updates on Covid-19: bc.edu/coronavirus

Q.  What is the status of BC Libraries? 

A. All BC Libraries will be closed until further notice. The latest information is available at BC Libraries Services Update.

A. 

• Online Course Materials
  The Libraries will continue all online course materials services.  

• Subject Liaisons Offering Heightened Online Consultation
  In addition to our general reference services, our subject specialist liaisons are available to provide whatever assistance they can to students and faculty.  
  

• Burns Library Special Collections
  We will work with faculty/students on individual bases to provide scans of historical/primary sources needed for instruction or research. Please place requests through https://libguides.bc.edu/Burns/contact.
  
  
• Extended Loan Periods
  Loan periods for library owned materials will be extended to Sept. 1.  Similarly, fines for most materials will be waived until Sept. 1, 2020. Exceptions include materials in Course Reserves and items not owned by the Libraries, such as materials obtained through Interlibrary Loan. For questions about items in Course Reserves, please contact Course Reserves at oneill.reserves@bc.edu or at 617-552-2297. For questions about items obtained through Interlibrary Loan, please contact  Interlibrary Loan at ill@bc.edu or 617-552-3209.
  
  
• Returning Materials
  Checked out items can be returned to the libraries in person. For questions about mailing materials, please visit the Contact Us library webpage; or contact us at notices@bc.edu or 617-552-8038.
  
  
• Interlibrary Loan Services
  At the current time, Interlibrary Loan services are fully operational. Timelines for interlibrary loan requests may be affected by the availability of interlibrary loan services at other institutions. To access your interlibrary loan account, please visit the interlibrary loan webpage. If you need assistance, please contact us at ill@bc.edu or at 617-552-3209
  
  
• Expanded Chat Reference Services
  We have increased staffing for our Ask-A-Librarian Services, including 24/7 online chat and email reference.
  

Q. What is the best source of information moving forward?

A. The Coronavirus website www.bc.edu/coronavirus

Q. Who can we contact for additional information?

A.
Student Affairs:
bcsa@bc.edu
617-552-8600

Office of Residential Life:
reslife@bc.edu
617-552-3060

Office of International Programs:
oip@bc.edu
617-552-3827

Office of International Students and Scholars:
bcis@bc.edu
617-552-8005

Office of Student Services:
studentservices@bc.edu
617-552-3300   

Office of Campus Ministry:
ministry@bc.edu
617-552-3475

Montserrat Office:
617-552-3140

Carroll School of Management:

• Undergraduate Dean’s Office: 617-552-3932
• Graduate Dean’s Office: 617-552-3773

Connell School of Nursing: 617-552-4250, sondean@bc.edu

Law School Dean’s Office: 617-552-4340

Lynch School of Education and Human Development: 617-552-4200

• Ana Martínez Alemán, Associate Dean for Faculty, ana.martinez-aleman@bc.edu
• Julia DeVoy, Associate Dean of Undergraduate Programs, whitcavi@bc.edu
• Tc.campion@bc.edu

Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences: mcas.dean@bc.edu

• Undergraduate Dean’s Office: 617-552-2800, casdean@bc.edu
• Graduate Dean’s Office: 617-552-3268

School of Social Work: 617-552-4020, bcsswdean@bc.edu

School of Theology & Ministry: 617-552-6501

Woods College of Advancing Studies: 617-552-3900, woodscollege@bc.edu

Sources for official information

• CDC COVID 19
• World Health Organization COVID 19
• Massachusetts Department of Public Health COVID 19
• Boston Public Health Commission COVID 19