Versión en Español

Friday, April 17, 2020

Message from the President

To the UDLAP Community

Yesterday, the Federal Government extended their National Safe-Distance Campaign (Jornada Nacional de Sana Distancia) until May 30th.  Therefore, UDLAP has decided to immediately apply the following actions to meet the needs of our students, collaborators, and their families.

UDLAP Contigo Program

Current University Scholarships

  1. Due to the extraordinary circumstances that obligated our institution to teach classes online during this period, we will automatically renew all university scholarships, with their corresponding percentage, to all students who had them during the Spring 2020 term.  This renewal, which does not take into account academic grades for this semester, will be granted for this occasion only.
    We encourage our scholarship students to continue striving and giving their best effort, thus avoiding negative academic results that may harm their studies or their future GPAs.

  2. The sale of UDLAP Lottery tickets has been delayed due to The National Safe-Distance Campaign established by the federal government’s Department of Health.  We have asked the Secretary of the Interior to postpone the lottery date until December 5, 2020.  Therefore, the deadline for scholarship students to sell and pay for the tickets is Friday, November 20, 2020.
  3. We will consider the Spring 2020 scholarship service as satisfactory for all students who should have fulfilled it.

Payments for Residential Colleges, SAUs, and other activities

Students who have paid in full their Residential Colleges, SAUs, or other special services such as UDLAP Workshops, will have the right to a 50% refund of the amount paid. Those students who have made monthly payments, will have a right to a 50% refund for March and will not be charged for April.

  1. This refund may be applied (i) towards tuition payment for Spring 2020 or Fall 2020, or (ii) to pay for the same activity for the Fall 2020 semester. 
  2. In case the student wants a cash refund, they must process it at the Treasury Department by sending an email to tesoreria@udlap.mx  This money will be returned in June 2020, once the administrative activities start on campus.

Financial Backing for UDLAP Students

The COVID-19 pandemic and the need to stay at home have affected the economy of our country.  The most severe effects of this confinement will be reflected on the financial situation of many of our families during the May-December 2020 period. As an institution, UDLAP cannot ignore the negative effects of this crisis on the families of our students. For this reason, we have made the following decisions:

  1. The 5% tuition increase for the August 2020 – July 2021 period is cancelled. With this, the university will maintain the same tuition fees for a 24 month period (August 2019 to July 2021).
  2. During the Fall 2020 and Spring 2021 semesters, those families who want to make differed payments for tuition and residential colleges will have a preferential interest rate of 1.5% per month on the unpaid balance.
  3. For additional services provided by the university, such as parking, UDLAP Workshops, University Dining and others, the Spring 2020 fees and current costs will not change until July 2021.
  4. The university has obtained a loan from commercial banks that will allow it to offer families who have been severely affected by the economic crisis due to COVID-19, a credit to defray up to 35% of the total tuition and residential college stay for the Fall 2020 semester. This credit will only apply to licenciatura students.
  5. The conditions for the credit are:
    1. The student must be up to date in their university payments upon requesting the loan.
    2. 24 month period, at a preferential fixed monthly interest rate of 1.5%.
    3. It is not subject to additional guarantees, except the word of the family.  
    4. The contracting party will enjoy, from its signing date, a grace period of six months without any penalty to pay both capital and interest.  
    5. The credit can be processed starting June 1, 2020 at the following email address udlapcontigo@udlap.mx.
  6. For cases that require temporary financial support during the 2020 Summer I and II enrollment periods,  please email credito.cobranza@udlap.mx, where any extraordinary situation will be attended.

UDLAP Regresa Program

Academic Programs

  1. The Licenciatura and Doctorate academic programs will continue to be taught online until Friday, May 8, 2020, the scheduled final date of classes according to the Spring 2020 calendar.
  2. The final exams period for Licenciatura and Doctorate programs is still May 9 to 20, 2020, as indicated in the school calendar. It is important to mention that each professor will electronically inform their students how this evaluation will be carried out.
  3. The Master’s programs for the Spring II period will continue to be taught online until they end on Friday, June 12, 2020, as established on the school calendar. The final exams will be given online. Each professor will electronically inform how each evaluation will be carried out.
  4. The  2020 Graduation Ceremony is postponed until January 16, 2021. The degree accreditation process will continue as normal throughout the 2020 calendar year.  However, delivery times will depend on the state and federal education authorities.
  5. The Summer I and II courses for semester and trimester programs will be taught online. The enrollment, as well as the start of classes, will be carried out according to the school calendar, and will be online.
  6. To guarantee excellence in our teaching-learning process, UDLAP will continue to conduct, online, training and development courses for its professors.
  7. During this period, our faculty members will continue to offer academic tutoring online to help students solve any problems related to their courses and to guarantee their academic development. Likewise, our administrative offices and Academic Tutoring Department will continue tending to the needs and specialized support required by our students.
  8. The Licenciatura and Doctorate Summer Course Catalogue will be available on April 27, 2020; the Master’s program catalogue will be available on May 8, 2020.

Campus Re-entry Program

  1. The return to on site academic programs and re-entry to the campus for non-resident students, will be as follows:
    1. Master: starting on Thursday, July 30, 2020, beginning date of the Fall I 2020 trimester period.
    2. Licenciaturas and Doctorates: Starting on Monday, August 10, 2020, start date of the Fall 2020 semester period.
  2. The return of Residential College students will begin on Monday, August 3, 2020. The return will be staggered according to a flowchart that will verify the health status of resident students in Fall 2020.
  3. The faculty will return to campus starting on Thursday, July 30, 2020. From April 20 to July 29, 2020, the faculty will continue their activities online, by doing Home Office.
  4. Administrative and union personnel will return to their campus activities gradually, starting in June 2020. This return will be scheduled according to the regulations established by health authorities of the Federal and State governments. The specific calendar for campus return of each employee will be provided on May 29, 2020.
  5. The Medical Services and Sports Rehabilitation Department will maintain defined protocols to control and follow-up possible COVID-19 cases on campus, as well as regular attention to the UDLAP Community. Until further notice, people who return to campus are subject to an incoming protocol carried out by said Department.

Other

  1. All sports, social, and other activities are cancelled until June 30, 2020.
  2. University community members who have materials on loan from the library and/or labs must return them during the week of August 10-14. There will be no penalties or fines for late returns of said materials.
  3. All students who left their belongings in Residential Colleges in March will receive a message 10 days from the publication of this document stating a process through which they may request: (i) packing of their belongings, (ii) their storage, or (iii) their shipment to the student’s city of origin. In all cases, the costs of packing, storage, or shipment will be paid for by the university.
  4. For students returning to Residential Colleges starting on August 3, 2020, their rooms assigned for Spring 2020 will continue under their name upon their return.
  5. The university staff will not be changed. There will be no personnel changes as a financial adjustment instrument during the academic period starting August 2020 until June 2021.   However, there will be no new personnel hiring during the same period. The exception to this rule will be new full-time professors for those areas that wish to strengthen their faculty.

The actions mentioned above represent a significant effort for our university.  They have been designed to support the families of our students, our students, and our staff, who have allowed us to reach the level of academic and social recognition that we enjoy today.  Together we will beat our common enemy: COVID-19. We therefore beg all our community members to respect the “stay at home” order during the time established by our authorities.  By doing this, we will start the new 2020-2021 academic year with the best university community in Mexico: You.