September 16, 2020

Dear Graduate Students,

To help all students cope with challenges related to COVID-19, UW–Madison has adjusted some academic and financial deadlines. For graduate students who choose to completely withdraw from the semester, a full tuition refund will be possible for one additional week, to Friday, September 18. Graduate students are encouraged to contact the Graduate School, which is their academic dean’s office, to discuss their situation if they are considering withdrawing or withdrew since September 11.

Additionally, two campus-level announcements were published yesterday. Chancellor Rebecca Blank shared an update on UW’s COVID-19 response, acknowledging that the numbers of positive COVID-19 tests on campus have been higher and increased more quickly than anticipated. The message details actions that the university has taken in response. The second announcement was about changes to the spring academic calendar, due to concerns about travel over spring break and uncertainty about the containment of COVID-19.

Please continue to check grad.wisc.edu/covid19 for the latest information for graduate students, as well as smartrestart.wisc.edu for more general information. We also use the GradConnections weekly newsletter to send timely announcements to you. Questions can be directed to dean@grad.wisc.edu or smartrestart@vc.wisc.edu.

Thank you,

William J. Karpus

Dean of the Graduate School

Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine