Coronavirus Information

Update: Thursday, March 12, 2020 3:19 p.m.

Dear Colleagues:

In recent weeks, we have been carefully and actively monitoring the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) situation and are taking proactive and prudent measures to ensure the health and safety of the campus community. As you know, President Conway-Turner announced on Wednesday that remote instruction will begin Monday, March 30.

Our goal is to keep students enrolled and help them finish out the semester. Moving to remote instruction will be a challenge. There will not be a one-size-fits-all solution, but we owe it to our students to find ways to adapt our methods and support student learning. Instructional Design and Training has assembled an array of tools to help you deliver your classes remotely, engage students, and meet course learning objectives. Also, the Academic Continuity website within the campus’s Teaching and Learning Center can provide you with specific tools and resources to help make this transition a little easier.

Many of your interactions with students during this time of remote learning will take place through Blackboard. It serves as a powerful hub, providing access to a number of tools for remote communication, teaching, and assessment. If you have not used Blackboard before, please take advantage of a number of training sessions that the Instructional Design and Training staff will hold over the next two weeks to help faculty prepare for remote instruction on March 30. Training sessions will be posted in the Workshop Registration System. The full slate of sessions has not been listed yet. More sessions will be added in the coming days. Faculty members should continue to check the site and read the Daily Bulletin for updates.

We are fortunate to have professional and faculty colleagues who can support distance education. Along with the Instructional Design team, we have numerous faculty members with insight on using technology. If you need help, reach out. If you have knowledge, please let people know that you can help.

In addition, please keep the following in mind:

• This is not a time to fully learn about online teaching and best practices if you are new to this method of instruction. Rather, consider how to best deliver your knowledge and skills during this unusual time.
• Manage your expectations and goals for the semester and make adjustments that are reasonable without compromising the critical content of your course.
• Classroom instruction should be delivered remotely, preferably through Blackboard; however, the specific modality will be determined by individual faculty members and instructors in consultation with their department chairs and deans.
• Special accommodations will be made for labs and studio classes, and I ask that faculty work collaboratively with their department chairs and deans to gain approval.
• All course instructors should review and revise their syllabi to provide students with clear instructions for class expectations through the end of the semester.
• Instructors should notify their students no later than March 27 on how to access course content.
• As appropriate, deans will share additional guidance regarding specific degree requirements and how their programs will adjust.
• Online training and other resources for remote instruction, testing, and evaluation are available on the Academic Continuity website.
• Faculty and instructors should direct questions and concerns to their department chairs or deans.

This Readiness Survey will help you identify areas of needed support relevant to your particular courses. I ask that you complete this survey to help us understand your needs and learn how we can best support you throughout this process.

Finally, I appreciate your patience and your willingness to adapt during this difficult time.

Best regards,

James Mayrose
Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs