MMS: Foundations of Business

Duke University leaders have been monitoring and adapting guidance related to COVID-19. We are very fortunate to have some of the best healthcare professionals in the world guiding our decisions on the university level. Duke took immediate steps to ensure we are doing everything possible to minimize the health and safety risks to students, faculty, staff and the wider community in response to COVID-19. Fuqua is open for business but in different ways than we were operating earlier this year. Our goal is to enable as many of our students who are able and who choose to participate in an on-campus experience this fall to do so. Fuqua’s faculty and staff are working to create dynamic and flexible educational options to ensure we can meet all needs: in-person instruction conducted in classrooms on campus, fully online courses that take advantage of the best pedagogy and technology available for remote education, and hybrid courses that involve some combination of in-person and online instruction.

Our Career Management Center continues to work virtually with students providing office hours, coaching and supporting their efforts to schedule interviews with employers.

Bottom line: Our goal is to maintain the same level of educational excellence that we have always provided through safe virtual means.

Community means everything to us at Fuqua. During this time though, your safety and the safety of our community is our top priority. With guidance from the University, we have suspended all in-person on and off campus events for prospective students until further notice. We are continuing to monitor the situation and the University has established an official website with the latest news and information on Duke policies and actions, which will continue to guide our decisions.

We continue to offer virtual opportunities for you to learn more about our programs, and we encourage you to review the list of upcoming virtual events. We will communicate with the community once campus is reopened.

Despite the disruptions caused by COVD-19, we encourage you to stay connected with our community and us in the following ways:

• Check our virtual events page for updates.
• Follow us on Instagram and view the Instagram takeovers our students have done recently.
• Check out the latest news from Fuqua on our Facebook page!
• Subscribe to get important emails and event notifications.
• Email our MMS: FOB Admissions team.

With guidance from the University and your safety in mind, we have decided to move all of our in-person campus visits until further notice. We understand that a campus visit is an important step for prospective students in selecting the school that is right for them. Our team is currently in the process of creating some exciting virtual opportunities for you to engage with the Fuqua community and explore our campus and look forward to sharing more details with you in the coming weeks!

The Admissions Team is working remotely and continuing to meet virtually to evaluate applications and make decisions. Therefore, the release of your admissions decision will not be impacted or delayed by COVID-19. In addition, we have made some adjustments to the admissions process given some of the challenges applicants have faced with submitting a complete application.

• Fuqua accepts both GMAT and GRE scores. We recognize that testing centers are not open at the moment, but both GMAC and ETS, the administrators of the GMAT and GRE tests, respectively, have now made available the option to take these tests from a home environment. Please visit the GMAC or ETS websites for more information. GMAC is also allowing applicants to reinstate canceled test scores without a fee. Typically GMAT and GRE test scores are valid for five years. During this time Fuqua will accept test scores for exams taken more than five years ago. To order those score reports to be sent to Fuqua, please contact GMAT or GRE customer service.

• We also accept SAT or ACT scores for applicants who are unable to take the GMAT or GRE. If you would like to submit one of these scores, you may select the appropriate test in the Test Scores section of the online application.

• We do require one of these test scores in order for an application to be considered complete and receive an admissions decision. If you have difficulty accessing or scheduling a test, please contact the Office of Admissions directly to discuss your unique situation.

One thing that has not changed due to this crisis is our commitment to helping you during the admissions process. If you have any questions or concerns, you are more than welcome to contact us and speak with a member of the admissions team.

We believe the interview process is a great opportunity for you to meet with members of the Fuqua community. However, our number one priority is the health of our students, alumni, and prospective students. Given travel restrictions and social distancing guidelines, we will continue to conduct all interviews virtually.

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the lives of students around the world. Due to the complexities of teaching and learning in a new environment, many universities have instituted different grading policies.

Fuqua admissions will not penalize applicants whose transcripts show Pass/No Pass or other similar grading options, regardless of whether it was the individual student or the institution that chose a particular option. When examining academic records such as transcripts, Fuqua will focus primarily on an applicant’s overall performance. Fuqua admissions takes a holistic approach in evaluating applicants, and academic transcripts are only one of the components of the overall applications.

We are very much aware of your unique challenges and that a growing number of US Embassies and Consulates are putting Visa appointments on hold. We encourage you, however, to continue to submit your paperwork to us as soon as possible, so that we can issue your 1-20 and you can explore options for scheduling an appointment at the earliest date possible, either at the embassy in your home country or the nearest one outside your home country. We are making plans for international incoming students to still be able to start the program, even if they are delayed in physically getting to Durham.

Below is some advice we have about getting your visa paperwork completed:

• We strongly urge you not to delay in submitting your visa documentation in your student portal. Our team is working hard to quickly process documents so that your I-20 can be mailed as soon as possible. (for security reasons, the U.S. cannot send I-20s electronically). Note: please do NOT wait for your Re Vera credential verification to complete, as the verification process can sometimes take months.
• Once you receive your I-20, please schedule your visa interview at the US embassy or consulate in your home country as soon as possible. If that is not possible, you may want to inquire about scheduling an interview at another US embassy or consulate outside your local area that IS scheduling appointments.
• Through our communication with government agencies, we know that some areas may experience a backlog in requests or wait times that are longer than expected. To ensure that your visa will be processed in time to start the program, we ask you to complete this process as soon as possible.
• We would also suggest you check daily with the US consulate or embassy in your home country to see if appointments open up and you are able to get an earlier date.
• We cannot advise you on whether it is better to take the 1st available appointment (even if it is after the start date of the program) or to continue to check for an earlier appointment. The best advice is to speak to someone directly at your nearest US Embassy or Consulate to inquire.
• In the past, incoming students have reported that checking for cancellations right after midnight, local time, increased the chances for some students for scheduling an interview.
• Since many embassies and consulates remain closed, we understand that you may be concerned about the visa process timeline. Please be aware that a number of embassies offer expedited visa interview appointments, and we encourage you to look at that option. If you are able to schedule an expedited appointment, Fuqua will credit your bursar account for any fees you have to pay, once you start the program.
• Please do your part by submitting your paperwork to us as quickly as possible. This will allow us to do our part in mailing the I-20 to you and put you in a position to schedule a visa appointment as soon as something is available.
• If you were issued an I-20 prior to the change in in program start date, Duke Visa Services will issue a new I-20 reflecting this updated information. You are not required to notify the U.S. consulate of this change and you will receive your new I-20 within 2 weeks. This update will not change your SEVIS number or affect the I-901 SEVIS fee that you already may have paid. Please be certain when entering the country to begin your program that you present only your new, reissued I-20.