Dear Colleagues,
As we return to campus, we want to thank you sincerely for your extraordinary efforts during the last 18 months to continue offering our students our instruction, even under duress, and for keeping together our intellectual and scholarly communities throughout this difficult time.
We are in the process of implementing our return to campus with in-person instruction, with offices open, and also with in-person scholarly programming in the School of Humanities. At the same time, we’ve been working to plan for some measure of remote instruction to meet student needs, capitalize on pedagogical advantages of online and hybrid instruction, and to accommodate particular faculty medical or other urgent situations.
OUR PUBLIC HEALTH SITUATION
Due to UCI’s vaccination mandate for faculty, staff, and students, the UCI community has a very high level of basic protection. In addition, the CDC on Wednesday ranked the State of California as having the lowest COVID incidence of all fifty states.
At UCI as a whole:
92% of faculty and staff are fully vaccinated
5% of employees have authorized exemptions or accommodations
97% of employees are compliant with the UC COVID-19 vaccine policy
95% of students in housing are vaccinated
About 90% of all students are already fully vaccinated and rates are increasing as students return and access resources
The School of Humanities is doing even better than the campus at large: 98% of faculty and staff have uploaded confirmation of having received two vaccination doses and only 2 of 389 faculty/staff are not yet in compliance with the COVID-19 vaccine policy. We’re grateful to all of you for doing your part in keeping our community and students safe.
The campus also has a robust set of additional public health measures in place, including an indoor masking requirement, daily symptom check, symptomatic and asymptomatic testing, and contact tracing. We will be closely monitoring the external and internal situation to ensure that the return to campus occurs with limited risk to our community.
Below are some academic and operational updates for your review in preparation for Fall quarter.
ACADEMIC
Classroom Matters:
Classroom Technologies has updated equipment in general assignment classrooms specifically to better accommodate instructors’ needs as classes return to in-person this Fall. Classrooms are equipped with microphone/cameras at the podium screen and are ready for Zoom streaming and recording. There are laminated “how-to” cards to facilitate use of the classroom technology.
We have been informed that all General Assignment Classrooms and Lecture Halls are currently unlocked for Fall ‘21, M-F 8:00 am-10:00 pm. We encourage you to visit your classroom and test things out, letting us know if you encounter any problems.
Humanities computing is setting up some drop-in times next week. If you would like some podium help, please reach out to Dwayne at dpack@uci.edu for more information.
Accommodating remote students: Classroom support has created a new, concise guide to help instructors who need to accommodate one or more remote students while teaching in person. This guide addresses streaming, recording, using the web camera, and using the document camera (e.g. to replace or capture writing on the board):
Another good reference:
Classroom microphones: All general assignment classrooms are (or will be by 9/23) equipped with at least one shareable microphone (including small classrooms where this was not previously the case) and we are taking requests now for quarter-long personal microphone loans.
Full details are available here: https://sites.uci.edu/classroomtechnology/microphone-request/
Please send related questions to Classroom Technologies at smartclassrooms@uci.edu.
Real-time classroom assistance: Dial 4-8833. This will connect you to staff assistance, including remote control over classroom technology to resolve problems.
Instructional FAQs:
As we prepare for Fall quarter, you may find it helpful to review some guidance on the TeachAnywhere website. Below are a few common questions and answers.
How do I Report a COVID case? Now that faculty, staff and students are returning to campus, it is important to know how to report a COVID case or a suspected case of exposure. If you become aware of a case or possible exposure, this website and checklist can address your questions. You may also call 949-824-9918 to consult with UCI’s COVID help line.
What if a student refuses to wear a campus-required face covering in class?
The campus mask mandate is covered by the Student Code of Conduct. Students must adhere to face covering requirements in the same way that they must conform to other elements of the Code of Student Conduct and other campus policies. If a student shows up to class or office hours without a face covering while campus guidance requires them, you may remind the student of the requirement and ask them to put on their face covering. If the student refuses to put one on, you may ask the student to leave, just as you would ask a student who is being disruptive to either cease their disruptive behavior or leave. If you cannot control the situation yourself, you may end class early for the well-being of all. Please report incidents to the Office of Academic Integrity and Student Conduct (OAISC). OAISC will need the students’ name, SID and other relevant information submitted via the online report form.
If a student has a disability accommodation to attend class without a mask, you would be notified in advance by the Disability Services Center. You should know that this is an unlikely scenario since other options would be considered such as remote instruction. For any questions regarding disability accommodations, please contact the Disability Services Center.
You should not call UCIPD to report failure to wear a face covering. UCIPD is not charged with enforcement of face covering requirements and failure to wear a face covering is not a police emergency.
Are instructors required to wear a face covering while teaching, if face coverings are required by campus?
Face coverings are mandated, and campus is distributing face coverings including masks with clear panels for those who teach students who read lips. Therefore, faculty are required to use them while teaching. Many classrooms have microphones available and additional microphones will be available for instructors to check out (see next question). Microphones are being tested with multiple types of face coverings to confirm compatibility and identify any limitations.
Where should faculty direct students if asked about attending an in-person course remotely?
If a student indicates that their situation is related to a disability or medical condition, please refer them to the Disability Services Center: dsc.uci.edu. For other circumstances, such as travel restrictions or financial hardship, please direct the student to email uciteachingquestions@uci.edu for information on how to apply for an exception. You may also direct students to an academic advisor or department resources if you feel that would be a more appropriate starting point.
Student requests to remotely attend in-person courses because of a COVID-19 related hardship, travel restriction, or medical condition are being centrally evaluated. Faculty will be notified of students enrolled in their courses who have an approved accommodation or temporary (1 quarter) exception to in-person attendance.
Additional resources, including training and classroom support, will be available to assist faculty in providing instructional content for these students. To request additional support, please email dtei@uci.edu.
Given the temporary nature of these exceptions, the intent is not for instructors to redesign or fundamentally alter their courses. As remote students face hardships related to COVID-19, instructors should focus on providing a path to success through the same learning outcomes rather than on replicating the same course content. The DTEI team is available to help with the delivery of content that both meets learning outcome goals and any required exceptions or accommodations.
Where can instructors find standard language to include in their syllabi to cover topics like reasonable accommodations, requirements for participation in in-person activities, and compliance with University safety protocols and policies?
Please see the website “Standard Syllabus Language for 2021/22” inside the UCI Teach Anywhere Site.
Are there any special resources for second-year students who are on campus for the first time?
UCI’s “Second-Year Experience” website lists resources that can be helpful for second-year students, who were unable to come to campus last year: https://students.uci.edu/secondyear/
Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have further questions or if problems arise for which you need support. We look forward to a safe and rewarding return to in-person instruction in the coming week.
Best,
Tyrus Miller, Dean
Yong Chen, Associate Dean
Penny Portillo, Assistant Dean