April 22, 2020: End of Spring Term Updates

Dear Faculty,

I want to thank you again for all your hard work during the spring term. I know it has been challenging for you as faculty and for our students. I have been truly impressed with your can-do attitude and dedication to our students’ success. Keep up the good work.

Now, as we near the close of the semester, it’s time to start planning for summer and fall. Here are a few items to consider:

1. As you know by now, we have moved all summer classes (summer A and B) online, except for some nursing and clinical sections. All face-to-face summer courses have been converted to online through the hard work of both IT and the Registrar’s Office. Please work with your chair and the CTE as you build out your courses.

2. Regarding internships, these experiences are critical to our students’ learning and success, but the health of our students must be primary, so please have all internships reviewed by the dean to ensure student safety. The ideal internship would either be virtual or in a very small setting that maintains social distancing and has minimal engagement with the general public. If an internship is canceled due to safety issues, we must find alternative experiences to ensure student progression and graduation. Alternative experiences may include virtual, work at home, online activities or course based.

3. Please prepare now for continuity of curriculum delivery during the fall semester in the event of a campus shutdown due to a severe weather event like a hurricane, or something else. The past few weeks have shown us that it’s more important than ever to be developing courses in a format that allows maximum flexibility for both instructors and students. All faculty should activate their Folio sections and upload their syllabi. Where feasible, please keep your Folio sections populated with up-to-date course materials. Also, think about how you will verify student engagement during a shutdown.

4. New faculty members will be required to do some online professional development through CTE.

Thank you again for doing your part in seeing us through these turbulent times. Please stay safe and healthy.

Sincerely,

Carl L. Reiber

Provost & Vice President Academic Affairs

Last updated: 8/18/2021