Good Evening MMA Students, (copied to all MMA staff and faculty),

We know that you have questions about future plans and schedules as we continue to assess the impacts of the COVID-19 situation on our operations. We also realize that decisions we make will influence your plans going forward. We are trying to be as proactive as possible and are making decisions as soon as we can, based on the information available.

This is the current status regarding events, classes, and answers to your questions that we are able to address as of now:

Spring Term 2020

All classes that can be taught by remote instruction should be functioning in that mode by Monday, March 30th. Professors should be reaching out to you as each course transitions to remote mode. Please let them know of any issues, questions, or concerns you have. Note that some courses will require that students return to Castine to complete course material that requires in-person assessment of practical skills. Your professor will let you know if your course is impacted in this way. We will attempt to give students two weeks’ notice before they would be required to return to MMA. Note that all remote instruction will be complete by May 8th.

Commencement

Today, President Brennan made the decision to cancel the date of May 2nd for Commencement. As the extent of the interruption caused by this crisis becomes clearer, MMA will consider alternate options for recognizing the Class of 2020’s academic accomplishments. Once suitable options have been developed, graduating seniors will be contacted to determine their availability. The Academy will then formalize a plan and, as in our other decisions, will try to provide as much advance notice as possible to ensure maximum participation for graduating seniors and their families.

TSSOM Cruise

As the nation responds to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are constantly evaluating our options for providing the best hands-on education that meets and exceeds federal and international training standards and days-at-sea experience. With that in mind, it is now clear that we will not be able to conduct this summer’s training cruise aboard the TS State of Maine as scheduled. However, our intent is to conduct a training cruise this summer, even if shortened.

We continue to follow the most up-to-date guidance from Federal and State public health authorities, and, as of now, we are unable to set a new date for cruise nor a revised itinerary. For planning purposes, cruise will not depart in the month of May. We are hopeful that we can commence cruise in June; however, it is premature to predict a date. To allow for all participants to adjust schedules and travel to Castine, we will provide at least 30 days’ notice prior to the ship departing. In addition to following medical guidance, we are in regular contact with the U.S. Coast Guard and Maritime Administration (MARAD) regarding the best guidance for training cruises as well as which ports are available and safe as we build a new itinerary.

Also, please note that President Brennan is working with the U.S. Coast Guard, MARAD, and the presidents of the other state maritime academies to address what may become a missed or abbreviated summer in terms of days-at-sea. There are multiple scenarios being considered in an effort to ensure each of you receives the best possible training and experience while minimizing any delay to your eventual licensing and graduation.

For any student who has not yet completed their paperwork for their MMC or TWIC card, please contact Laura Nason-Moulton at laura.nason@mma.edu. For students who did complete their applications but have not yet received their TWIC card or MMC, contact the Registrar’s Office if you need either one prior to your return to campus. Otherwise, cards and documents received in the Registrar’s Office may be picked up upon your return.

In addition to following updates, please continue to monitor information on your MyMMA page as well as the Regiment Spring 2020 Canvas page.

Cadet Shipping

As noted in the TSSOM Cruise section above, we, along with maritime entities around the world, are working to adapt to ever-changing medical guidance while striving to meet the various maritime needs including defense logistics, government research, and commercial enterprises. The Career Services Office continues to communicate with the numerous companies that provide underway opportunities for our students. Your health and safety are the top priority for MMA as well as each of the companies who host students as cadets. Our desire is to strive for cadet shipping opportunities this summer; however, it is impractical for students to depart to their host companies and ships during the month of May. As the COVID-19 situation develops, we will advise students if they will have a cadet shipping opportunity this summer and will strive to provide 30 days’ notice prior to a student departing to meet their assigned vessel. Please be patient and remain flexible as we may need to change cadet shipping assignments based on availability.

As noted above, please contact Laura Nason-Moulton if you have yet to complete your required documents (MMC, TWIC, Passport) or Director of Health Services Tammy Tyler if you have not completed the medical requirements for your anticipated cadet shipping billet. Hopefully the 30-day notice prior to departing to meet your ship will allow sufficient time to process any remaining requirements.

You should monitor MyMMA as well as your respective Cadet Shipping course on Canvas for additional information and correspondence from the Career Services office.

Co-ops

Maine Maritime’s Career Services Office continues to work with our industry and business partners in Maine, across the United States, and throughout the world as we all adapt to ever-changing medical guidance. The Career Services office continues to communicate with the numerous companies that provide co-op opportunities for our students. Your health and safety are the top priority for MMA as well as each of the companies who host student interns. Our desire is to be able to provide co-ops this summer; however, it is impractical for students to plan to report to their host companies during the month of May. As the COVID-19 situation develops, we will advise students if they will have a co-op this summer and will strive to provide 30 days’ notice prior to a student beginning their internship. Please be patient and remain flexible as we may need to change co-op assignments based on a company’s status and availability.

You should monitor MyMMA as well as your respective Co-op course on Canvas for additional information and correspondence from the Career Services office.

Ireland Trip

The Ireland trip has been cancelled. Professors Leon and Kim Raikes will reach out to the impacted students with some additional guidance on the situation.

Bowdoin Summer Cruises

As the nation responds to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are constantly evaluating our options for providing the best hands-on education that meets and exceeds federal and international training standards and days-at-sea experience. With that in mind, it is now clear that we will not be able to conduct this summer’s training cruises aboard the schooner Bowdoin as currently scheduled. However, our intent is to conduct training cruises this summer, even if shortened.

We continue to follow the most up-to-date guidance from Federal and state health authorities, and, as of now, we are unable to set a new date or revised itinerary. For planning purposes, the Bowdoin summer cruise will not depart in the month of May. We are hopeful that we can commence a cruise in June; however, it is premature to predict a date. To allow for all participants to adjust schedules, travel to Castine, and prepare Bowdoin to sail, we will provide at least 45 days’ notice prior to the ship departing but will ask you to return as soon as possible after such notice is given to assist in readying the vessel. In addition to following medical guidance, we are in regular contact with the U.S. Coast Guard and Maritime Administration (MARAD) regarding the best guidance for training cruises as well as which ports are available and safe as we build a new itinerary.

As noted above, President Brennan is working with the U.S. Coast Guard, MARAD, and the presidents of the other state maritime academies to address what may become a missed or abbreviated summer training, including days-at-sea. There are multiple scenarios being considered in an effort to ensure that each of you receives the best possible training and experience while minimizing any delay to your eventual licensing and graduation.

In addition to following updates, please continue to monitor information on MyMMA.

Additionally, here are current answers to a couple of frequently asked questions:

Financial Aid/Merit Scholarships

Some students have expressed concern that they may not be as successful under the remote learning model as they would have been with on-campus instruction and thus might not be eligible for a renewal of merit scholarships as renewal is usually based on the spring Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA). While we are confident you WILL be successful with your remote instruction, we will be using the fall 2019 CGPA to calculate eligibility for renewal of scholarships for this year due to the extraordinary circumstances caused by the pandemic. In addition, if you did not meet the renewal criteria at the end of the fall semester, the financial aid staff will review your grades at the end of the spring semester. If you are successful at the end of the spring semester in raising your CGPA to the required level, the financial aid staff will renew your scholarship. Please contact Financial Aid Director, Kathy Heath, at Kathy.Heath@mma.edu if you have any questions regarding your scholarship and this year’s change to the usual renewal procedures.

Room & Board

Your patience throughout the current upheaval caused by the extraordinary measures we are following to protect the health and well-being of our MMA community is greatly appreciated, particularly regarding your questions about room and board. Unlike other colleges which have terminated classroom instruction and transitioned fully to online delivery for the remainder of the semester, we have courses with embedded STCW requirements regarding assessments that must be completed in person. We are working to determine the best way to bring those of you in license programs back to campus to complete these assessments.

In addition, we had to confirm that a credit would not impact your financial aid award for the year. After reviewing the Department of Education regulations, Maine Maritime Academy’s Financial Aid Office has determined that issuing a credit for room and board will not have any impact on a student’s financial aid award for this current academic year. A student and or parent may choose to use any resulting credit balance on their student accounts to pay down a student loan (federal or private) or a parent PLUS loan. Students and parents should work directly with their loan lender or agency. For federal loans, please visit studentaid.gov for your loan agency’s contact information.

The Financial Aid and Billing Office staff are reviewing each residential student’s account. We will be issuing a credit for a pro-rated portion of room and board for students not enrolled in a license major as soon as we can. Please monitor your student account to see when this credit is applied. Students can then go through the normal refund request process should they wish to receive a refund of any resulting credits on their accounts. Credit balances can also remain on student accounts to offset future charges.

For students in license programs, we are awaiting guidance from the U.S. Coast Guard regarding assessment and determining whether we can bring you back to campus later in the year. We will update you as soon as this has been determined.

We ask you to bear with us as we make decisions as quickly as we can in this most challenging time. Please contact Alice Herrick, Director of Business Services, at Alice.Herrick@mma.edu if you have questions regarding credit for room and board.

We understand that this is an uncertain time and hope that this guidance helps you prepare for the days ahead.

In closing, we want to assure you that the faculty and staff are standing by to assist you with questions and concerns you may have while we experience together this extraordinary world crisis. In accordance with the Maine Governor’s Executive Order to close non-essential buildings to the public, the faculty and staff are working remotely for the time being, but we are available via phone and email. Please reach out as needed.

Dr. Elizabeth True and Prof. Mark Cote