JUNE 11: COVID-19 Update
Faculty & Academic Staff Briefing #33
Dear Faculty and Academic Staff:
Yesterday Laurie Quinn held a Provost’s Forum in which she updated the faculty on some key aspects of our current academic planning for fall 2020. The full set of slides from the Provost’s Forum can be viewed here with additional information below. Please note: The first broader campus communication regarding initial plans for the fall (including the academic calendar) will be sent to all faculty, staff and students shortly.
This brief includes:
- Academic Calendar Update For Fall
- Faculty Teaching Choice Survey
- Fall 2020 Course Standards
- CLT Faculty Support Plan
- Canvas Shells Available Monday
ACADEMIC CALENDAR UPDATE FOR FALL
We have modified the Fall 2020 academic calendar to mitigate risks from the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Classes will begin on August 31
- Monday, October 12th and Tuesday, October 13th, originally scheduled as a fall break, will instead be in-session days, and Thanksgiving break will be expanded to one full week, November 23-27.
- Students will not return to campus after the Thanksgiving break and all courses will move to remote instruction for the final weeks of the fall semester, concluding December 18.
The status of the Spring 2020 semester will be evaluated throughout the fall and students will receive guidance before the conclusion of in-person instruction at Thanksgiving break.
FACULTY TEACHING CHOICE SURVEY
Your answers to the Faculty Teaching Choice Survey, which we recognize may not be definitive yet, will be helpful as we plan amid inevitable uncertainty for course scheduling, room assignments, and course development support, among other needs. You may change your mind as more information becomes available.
This data will be shared with the Registrar and the deans for what will likely become an iterative course scheduling and space planning process that by necessity will change as enrollment numbers shift over the summer. Please continue to have conversations with your dean(s) about your fall teaching schedule and preferences for teaching remotely.
Please take the survey now, if you haven’t already.
FALL 2020 COURSE STANDARDS
In response to Covid-19, faculty must prepare their fall courses to run with at least some level of remote instruction. The Fall 2020 Course Standards are an outgrowth of Champlain’s long-standing (and recently updated) Academic Continuity Standards. The Fall 2020 course standards provide important guideposts and stability, define baseline expectations, and give your students appropriate predictability and consistency.
As faculty design their Fall 2020 courses, the goal is to create the conditions for sound learning to occur regardless of whether individual students or the faculty member can attend any particular learning experience in-person, and to offer flexible learning that can accommodate individual learner needs. All courses will be designated as Flex-Hybrid.
CLT SUPPORT PLAN
The Center for Learning & Teaching has developed a robust process for supporting faculty in achieving their Flex-Hybrid course design goals and in meeting the Fall 2020 Course Standards. To ensure that all full-time and adjunct faculty have the time and support they need, courses will be required to meet four milestones this summer according to a timeline. Check out the full overview of the process, including timelines here. Further details can be found on the CLT’s Fall Ramp-up page.
| Four Summer Milestones | FT Faculty Target Date | PT Faculty Target Date |
| Kick-Off Conversation: Short meeting with a CLT+ team member to identify support needs, timeline, and preference to work with faculty peers or the design team to meet the remaining milestones. | June 15 – 26 | By July 20th or earlier |
| — | ||
| Design Check-in Meeting: Either within a faculty peer group or with a member of the Design Team based on faculty’s choice. | By July 15 | By July 31 |
| — | ||
| Course Review Meeting: Either with the Instructional Design Review team or a faculty peer group to provide feedback on course design. | By August 17 | By August 21 |
| — | ||
| Technical Review: Canvas settings, gradebook, accessibility all meet faculty intent. | By August 21 | By August 27 |
Please schedule your kick-off meeting here now!
In the meantime, feel free to reflect on the guiding questions on the Preparing for Your Kickoff Conversation page and come to the conversation ready to share your thoughts, questions and support requests. You are welcome to review some of the many helpful resources posted on the CLT website.
CLT staff will host a series of open Q&A sessions about the ramp-up process and course standards, beginning on Friday 6/12 at 11 am, with additional sessions to be scheduled next week. Please check your calendar for details and the meeting link.
COURSE SHELLS AVAILABLE MONDAY
The deans are working with their faculty to finalize the fall 2020 teaching schedule. Those changes need to be updated in the Registrar’s Office today and tomorrow. In order to ensure the most accurate deployment of Canvas shells, we are delaying until Monday, June 15th. You can expect to receive your Canvas shell(s) on Monday.
ONGOING COMMUNICATIONS
Ongoing communication and resources for Faculty and Staff are posted on The View; the most recent posts are listed here for easy access. Finally, all Faculty Daily Briefing emails are stored here and also hosted on The View.
QUICK LINKS
- CLT: Fall Flex Hybrid Ramp-Up Guide
- CLT: Meeting Scheduling
- CLT: Upcoming Webinars
- Faculty Canvas Mentor List
- The View: Updates on the Coronavirus
STUDENT RESOURCES
