Dear MCU Community,
As you already know, the pandemic has delayed in person events for quite some time. Throughout the pandemic we’ve been exercising caution, considering data from the CDC and other health care professionals and stakeholders to balance the safety of our students and community.
All of our events take months of advance planning and coordination generally and we are forced to make predictions about COVID based on a couple month lead. When we began planning April events, Omicron hit and we decided not to announce in person Skill Suites or the Gala. As we are now in the months leading to August, we again are revisiting the data.
The data shows that all of the state of Utah (where in-person assessments will be held) is currently (and consistently) at a Low transmission level at the time of this announcement. Here are the data sources for your reference:
guidance from the CDC on US domestic travel:
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/travel-during-covid19.html
and nationwide case, transmission rates and health guidance levels:
Considering all of this, we will be holding in-person assessments August 22-24, 2022 in Salt Lake County, Utah with a virtual assessment alternative for students articulated below. Our Graduation Gala for 2022 will be virtual again in October. More details will follow.
We are currently negotiating with venues and should have an address for you within the next week. We are also working with local preceptors to set up a mini-conference of workshops that week, for students who are coming to assess and those who would just like to visit and take advantage of the opportunity. Again, the exact workshops and schedule will be coming very soon.
As you may remember from enrollment, the cost of live assessments is covered by your tuition, and need-based travel stipends were offered to defray the travel costs to students. We discovered in late 2020 that online assessments actually cost more than assessments in person, because they have to be done one student at a time, and require two assessors to be paid for that time, as well as shipping of equipment and supplies to students who need them. Yes, that means that for the last two years, assessments have been running over the budgeted costs every semester. It was one of the difficult things we decided to do during the pandemic to keep things moving forward as normally as possible for our students during this worldwide crisis, but it’s not feasible permanently.
We understand that some students may still not feel comfortable traveling due to health concerns, or have other barriers preventing them from attending in-person. So, if you are assessing this summer (enrolled in CLNC 1050, 2050 or 3050), you will have the option of a virtual assessment, but there will be a fee to mitigate the additional cost. The fee will be $150 to take the Phase 1 or Phase 3 assessment online, and $200 to take the Phase 2 assessment online (because it is longer and requires a local preceptor to be located, trained and paid along with an MCU assessor).
I (Sarah) want to emphasize that the virtual assessment is not easier or harder than the in-person assessment. We work very closely with assessors to make sure that they are as similar as possible, so students get deep feedback and equitable assessment regardless of the format and location, but there are some challenges and benefits unique to each format.
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In Person Assessment |
Virtual Assessment |
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We are hopeful to see many of your shining faces in person again. We appreciate your resilience and patience during the last two years and hope for healing and health in the future. For any questions regarding Assessment details and questions, please contact Sarah Carter at assessment@midwifery.edu; for questions regarding the Gala or Skill Suites, please contact Masha Mesyef at marketing@midwifery.edu .
Masha Mesyef
Director of Marketing, Events & Fundraising
Sarah Carter
Assessment Specialist
April 7, 2022