Southeastern postpones start of classes as region responds to historic flooding
Tuesday, August 16, 2016
by: Rene Abadie
HAMMOND – Southeastern Louisiana University has postponed the startup of classes for
the fall semester to Monday, Aug. 22, due to the widespread flooding in the region
and its impact on students, faculty and staff.
The decision to delay was made after communicating with students, faculty and
staff members regarding their status given the impact of the floods. Consideration
was also given to the anticipated timeline for re-opening Interstate 12 and input
from partner agencies and businesses.
Originally scheduled to start classes on Wednesday, Aug. 17, the university has
also extended deadlines for financial aid, course selection and payment of fees. The
campus is open and all services are available as usual for students residing on campus
and those able to travel safely to pick up textbooks and parking passes and transact
other business.
“We understand there are students who have suffered tremendous losses and will
not be able to start the semester as they may have planned,” said university President
John L. Crain. “Their lives have been hugely disrupted, and it likely will be some
time before normalcy can return for many of them. We will work with them on a case-by-case
basis to make sure they’re able to return to Southeastern whenever they’re ready.”
The Southeastern campus and Hammond area have emerged from the unprecedented
flood largely unscathed. Students in the area who were able to travel started checking
into their residence halls on Sunday. While campus operations resumed Monday, only
those employees who could travel safely to the campus were expected to do so.
Changes to the academic calendar include the following:
-- August 19: Extended fee payment deadline, as well as the final move-in date
for campus housing. However, special accommodations will be made for students impacted
by the flooding. Please contact studentaccounts@southeastern.edu or universityhousing@southeastern.edu respectively, to request additional time.
-- August 22-24: Drop/Add Period (students will be able to drop to zero hours,
if needed)
-- August 24: Final day to cancel registration with a 100 percent refund. The
university will continue to consider refunds past this date on a case-by-case basis
for students impacted by the flooding.
Additional updates and answers to Frequently Asked Questions about the status
of the semester can be found on Southeastern’s main webpage, southeastern.edu.
