Welcome to the Fall Semester!

To our new students: welcome to the department, we are so happy you are here!

To our returning students: whether you have been taking summer courses with us, or enjoying the academic summer break, welcome back! We are all excited to get back into the cadence of the semester.

Whether you are a new or returning student, this semester holds some unprecedented changes for all of us. I wanted to write this note to give some information about how the Systems Engineering classes and programs will work for the upcoming semester.

In every part of Colorado State University, we are committed to the health of our students, faculty, staff, and community as we continue to serve our land-grant mission of academics, research and outreach. For the Department of Systems Engineering, that means that we will be delivering 100% of our courses for Fall Semester at a distance, using our normal Zoom/Canvas technology suite.  

Systems Engineering has been teaching, advising students, and performing research using remote technologies for 10 years. This means we have lots of practice with virtual learning and our product, program and commitment to our students is unchanged.  

SE faculty and staff will also be working remote for the Fall semester. Our on-campus offices will not be open. Only critical research labs will be staffed. Office hours, research advisement, academic advisement, scheduling, and other services will be available as always by phone, email, Microsoft Teams, or Zoom.  

If you have questions about this, feel free to reach out to me or any member of our faculty and staff. Also, be sure to check Canvas as we approach the beginning of the semester for specific instructions from your professor.   

As the coronavirus situation evolves, information shared with the campus community can change rapidly. The most up-to-date information will always be at the main university COVID site at https://covidrecovery.colostate.edu/.

Our Systems Engineering department is made up of students from all over the US and globe, from companies big and small, and from every stage of career, education and national service. As we think systematically about the progression and future of the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects, we understand that there will be no single experience, no ideal preference weighting, and no “correct” way to confront this crisis. 

Instead, we must work together to communicate, to remain agile, and to maintain our commitment to each other’s well-being and success.  

So, allow me, your advisors, and our staff to help however we can as we move together through the upcoming semester.  We will do anything that we can to ensure that you can continue to learn, to research, and to work towards your academic and professional goals.   

I am optimistic about the semester to come. Systems Engineering has been working and planning this summer to ensure access, success, equity, and excellence for all our students. 

Despite the changes coming this semester, we will continue to learn together as part of our greater University community.   

See you in class,

Tom 

Department Head and Professor