Q. How will Rutgers be offering the majority of remotely delivered courses in Fall 2020/Spring 2021?
Remote course sections will be delivered either live following a regular class schedule (synchronously) or “by arrangement” (asynchronously)
- For courses listed in the Schedule of Classes with a scheduled day and time, students are expected to connect remotely during those times. These classes typically involve web conferencing.
- For courses listed as “by arrangement”, there are no scheduled class sessions. These courses will have a regular schedule of work and assignments due throughout each week, but they will not require you to be online at a particular time. Rather, your instructor will provide materials—for example, readings, video content, presentations, lectures, assignments, and exams—and you can access these materials and satisfy the course requirements within time frames specified by the instructor.
For information about technology resources available to students, including information about WiFi and cellular access providers are making available during the COVID-19 response, please visit the Technology Resources for Students page, which is available on the Rutgers University’s COVID-19 Information website
Q. How can I contact the Health Professions Office during the pandemic?
PLEASE NOTE: The HPO office in Nelson Labs will not be staffed during the Fall 2020/Spring 2021 semester so, unfortunately, you cannot drop by or call as we are all working remotely and do not have access to the phone system.
BUT! We are here for you and eager to help you. See below for the ways you can connect with us!!
Q. How do I open an HPO file remotely during the Fall 2020/Spring 2021 semester, since the office is closed?
If you are a currently enrolled student at Rutgers-New Brunswick, please email your request to open a file to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and an HPO staff member will respond with the proper paperwork for you to fill out and return. See our homepage for a brief PowerPoint with further information.
Q. Can you explain the process of obtaining a letter of recommendation for my HPOdrome file?
To request a letter of recommendation, you would just fill out the evaluation form found on our HPO website and give that form to your letter writer via email. They should then send their completed letter and that same completed evaluation form back to the HPO directly via email as attachments. They should NOT send the letter directly to you, as this would make it non confidential and therefore not usable. From there, we will upload the letter to the HPOdrome, where you can check that we received it by logging on with your net id and password to the portal you created when you opened up your HPO profile.
Q. How can I schedule an appointment with one of the HPO advisors?
There are currently three ways currently enrolled students can go about speaking with an HPO advisor:
- Virtual Walk-in Hours and Online Chat (Ask the Advisor option)
- Virtual Scheduled Appointments - 30 minute appointments that can be scheduled by logging on to Online Chat (General Questions option)
- Email the advisor: If you only have 1-2 advising questions, please email your questions to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and one of the HPO advisors will get back to you.
Q. What if I only have a quick general question for the office staff?
There are currently two ways currently enrolled students can ask general questions:
Virtual Online Chat (General Questions option)
Email the HPO office: please email your general questions to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and one of the HPO staff will get back to you.
PLEASE NOTE: The HPO office in Nelson Labs will not be staffed during the Fall 2020/Spring 2021 semester. Please do not call the office as all staff members are working remotely.
GENERAL QUESTIONS ABOUT ACADEMICS RELATED TO COVID-19:
Q. Will medical/dental schools accept online courses for prerequisites?
There is no uniformity in how undergraduate institutions are handling online courses. Each medical school lists their policies about course work in the MSAR. AAMC made a list available as a PDF. You can consult it here
In any case, Rutgers does not designate which classes are online on the transcript.
Q. How will it look to medical/dental schools if I take a prerequisite course as P/NC?
We understand that these are stressful times for those of you hoping to pursue professional schools with highly competitive admissions. We understand that the option of Pass/No Credit is appealing and appropriate in some situations. As a general rule, however, the HPO is not recommending that students use the Pass/No Credit option for classes in which they are earning a C, or better.
The Pass/No Credit option should not be used to cosmetically improve the appearance of your transcript by keeping certain grades “hidden” with a P. Most professional schools, such as medical and dental schools, will assume that the Pass was a C. Therefore, if you earned a C, taking the P it is not changing anything except a minor impact on your GPA. Grades during an extraordinarily challenging semester, will not be the thing that determines your admission or rejection to a professional school. And, remember, all students across the nation are being impacted by COVID-19 and professional schools will be aware of this as they review applications.
We encourage you to use common sense when considering use of the option. If you are normally an A and B student and wind up with some Cs this semester, that is okay. Again, these are unprecedented times and grades from this semester will be viewed within that context. You have other semesters, past and future, to represent the type of grades you normally achieve in normal circumstances. Even if you tend more toward the B or C range on your transcript, your grades then would be within normal range and an upward trend would not be expected this semester.
Remember, professional schools will likely want to know at some point how you were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Think about how you will discuss that when you are thinking about using the Pass/No Credit option.
Of course, many of you are experiencing significant hardships during this time and the policy is really meant for you. If you feel that you are one of those students, you should definitely reach out to discuss the pros and cons of using the option with an academic advisor.
GENERAL QUESTIONS ABOUT STAYING INVOLVED IN EXTRA CURRICULARS WHILE LEARNING REMOTELY:
Q.What can I do to stay involved in pre-health activities if I am unable to secure any other clinical experience during Fall 2020/Spring 2021?
Get involved in a club or group on campus. Check out the Student Involvement Fair and search RU Involved.
Look for remote opportunities to shadow or volunteer.
Here are some ideas for prehealth opportunities during the Fall 2020 semester: https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSZEMI_w2jDK5oH_nxnODReCJE_3G6ADLWK-nFGdLsctv_3e9lfdlwMGi2mv_I9H9j8dnFkjPtJdJpH/pub
Click here for some resources to help you obtain clinical experience in a virtual age.
Nelson Biological Laboratories