CLAS is working closely with central UI leadership in planning for academic delivery in Fall 2020, when the UI reopens for in-person classes. CLAS will follow UI regulations and policies regarding student instruction. Many regulations and policies are yet to be decided; in the meantime, here is some preliminary guidance for CLAS instructors, as well as helpful resources and ideas.
Please send questions, ideas, comments, and concerns to clas-strategic-communications@uiowa.edu.
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Courses with an expected enrollment of 50 or more students will be offered in either a blended modality (i.e., online lectures with in-person discussion sections, labs, etc.) or all-online modality. Since enrollment numbers frequently change during registration and the first week of the semester, please consider past enrollments in a course when deciding which of your courses fit this description. Please note: This is preliminary guidance; the UI will be offering further details as they are decided.
Courses with a blended modality must contain significant in-person components.
Faculty offering online or blended courses should obtain appropriate training and experience by consulting with Distance and Online Education (DOE) or the Office of Teaching, Learning, and Technology (OTLT). We will provide links to training opportunities from these offices as soon as they become available.
Classes with fewer students than 50 will also be offered in an in-person, blended, or online modality. DEOs should take into account issues of safety (e.g., lack of ventilation of the assigned classroom; the inability to do physical distancing in a classroom; underlying health issues of the faculty member; issues of passing safely in the halls). Please note: This is preliminary guidance; the UI will be offering further details as they are decided.
Every UI classroom will be equipped with a camera and a microphone that the instructor can use to include virtual participants in the classroom. |
CLAS’s Physical Distancing Plan and other measures to safeguard students, staff, and faculty will be consonant with the guidelines issued by the Office of the Provost.
The “off-campus assignment” policy (UI Operations Manual 21.4) remains in effect for faculty and TAs. This policy reads as follows:
21.4 Off-Campus Assignments: There are certain circumstances in which a member of the faculty will be absent on business which is not personal but which is educational in character and is carried on specifically for the benefit of the University. An absence under such circumstances is called "off-campus assignment." Written approval of off-campus assignments, whether or not there is to be reimbursement by the University for travel expense, must be obtained from the dean or departmental executive officer. If the assignment is for a period longer than three weeks, written approval must be obtained from the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost. Deans and departmental executive officers obtain approval from the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost (see III-22). Any circumstances involving borderline situations between leave of absence and off-campus assignment should be cleared with the Executive Vice President and Provost. See also III-22.7
Other Strongly Recommended Practices
In creating a syllabus for the fall, focus on learning outcomes, with particular attention to the most important outcomes of the semester.
Use the template for ICON course design recommended by OTLT and DOE. The templates may be accessed here: https://icon.uiowa.edu/selfRegistration/course/151620.
A series of OTLT webinars, “Cornerstones for Course Design,” will be held from 1 to 2 p.m. on Thursdays in June available during the summer. Visit https://teach.its.uiowa.edu/initiatives/cornerstones-course-design to enroll or learn more.
Organize courses into three or four-week modules; such an organization gives students a clear sense of the course structure and its goals, and will be useful if the semester ends early.
Determine grades by a point system rather than through the use of a curve. Research has shown that points tend to empower students, since the path for success is clearer, and includes small, controllable actions for success.
Consider giving shorter quizzes or exams, since cheating generally occurs in high-stakes testing. Proctorio and the Lockdown Browser from Respondus are helpful. Turnitin, which can be easily turned on in ICON, is recommended for any writing submitted for a grade.
Faculty should share in-person teaching responsibilities with TAs and be mindful of the contractual limits on TA time.