Remote Teaching, Absences from Campus

November 19, 2025

This message is distributed to Academic Department Chairs & Deans, All Instructors, Academic Assistant Deans, and Academic Business Officers & ASC Directors. (Click here to view description of distribution groups.)  

In response to various inquiries about Senate and administrative policies governing faculty residence and remote instruction, we are updating a memo originally sent on August 1, 2022, by the Executive Vice Chancellor and the Academic Senate Chair, to deans, chairs, and instructors. Our communications at that time referenced long-standing policies and practices that had been interrupted by the pandemic, but which remain in place and are still applicable and relevant today.

In a memo titled Guidance Regarding Return to Onsite Work for Academic Appointees, the UC Office of the President reiterated the importance of a return to in-person teaching and campus operations as we emerged from remote operations during COVID. It stated: “Administration and Senate Leadership are united that the default mode of instruction and research be in-person. This means that as an in-person institution, the University will conduct its regular business, including teaching and research, with faculty, staff, and students physically present.” 

This statement emphasizes that “in order to fulfill obligations to students, colleagues, and to the University as a whole, academic appointees must maintain a significant presence on campus, meet classes, keep office hours, hold examinations as scheduled, be accessible to students and staff, be available to interact with University colleagues, and share service responsibilities throughout every quarter or semester of active service.”  

The UCOP Guidance reiterates UC policy (APM 700 – 760), echoed in UCSB policy (Red Binder VI-1), which states long-standing requirements regarding short-term absences from campus: 

• During the academic year, most absences of more than seven calendar days require approval by the dean. 
• Non-teaching quarters have normal service and residential expectations and may not be treated as if they were sabbatical leaves. 
• Academic Senate faculty with non-teaching quarters are expected to be in residence, have in-person office hours, and attend in-person meetings. 
• Faculty who have permission to teach an authorized, fully online course are not excused from the requirement to be in residence. 

Our campus recognizes that faculty occasionally have professional obligations or research opportunities that require brief absences during the academic quarter. We trust that faculty will act conscientiously to make alternative arrangements if they must miss a scheduled class. For example, faculty might arrange for a guest lecture or schedule a make-up class or an exam to cover for this sort of rare absence. Similarly, an occasional pre-recorded lecture or a class delivered over Zoom might also substitute for an in-person lecture.*  These expectations apply to all instructors—Academic Senate faculty, Unit 18 Lecturers, Teaching Assistants and Associates, and Visiting Professors—and, individually, to all course components, such as discussion sections.

Brief absences due to illness. Instructors who must miss class for brief periods for medical reasons should consult their department chair to determine whether they are able to teach remotely or record their lectures or whether substitutes are needed to cover their classes. 

Workplace Accommodations. Instructors with documented medical conditions that limit their participation in classroom instruction may be eligible, in some cases, for a temporary remote teaching accommodation at the conclusion of a formal Human Resources Workplace Accommodation process, in consultation with the chair, to determine what would constitute a reasonable accommodation. Chairs should consult with their deans about faculty requests for workplace accommodation that would materially alter the expectations for residence and in-person instruction. Chairs and deans do not have the authority to grant workplace accommodations such as remote teaching or absence from campus outside of the formal workplace accommodation process. Please note that remote instruction might not be considered a reasonable accommodation if it has a negative impact on students registered for a course. Faculty unable to meet expectations for residence and in-person instruction on an ongoing basis may need to consider medical or disability leave options. 

When in doubt about policies governing absences from campus, online teaching, or accommodations, instructors should consult their chairs, who should consult their deans, or the relevant offices noted above (the Academic Senate, Human Resources, or the Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost, as appropriate).

We recognize that technology has in some cases enabled a hybrid workplace. Notwithstanding these technological capabilities, we reiterate long-standing University and campus policies and reaffirm their principles. As the Office of the President stated, “the connectivity and common experiences afforded by campus presence are essential for building, strengthening, and maintaining a robust and inclusive university culture that supports our innovative work as a student-centered, research-focused, service-oriented university.” 

    
* Please note that without appropriate approvals, it is not acceptable to offer courses in a hybrid or fully online modality during the academic quarter. (See Academic Senate Guidelines for Online Course Design and Supplemental Materials for Review of New Online Courses.) In some cases, students with documented medical conditions that prevent their participation in classroom instruction may be approved for a remote learning accommodation following a formal review process and an iterative consultation with the instructor. For detailed information about policies and procedures, see the Faculty Resources page on the Disabled Students Program website. The Title IX Compliance & Discrimination and Harassment Prevention Office also may contact instructors to discuss possible remote accommodations for students, including Pregnancy and Parenting Resources, comparable to DSP accommodations. Such accommodations, when granted, apply only to specific students and do not authorize the instructor to teach the course remotely or provide remote access for the entire class. Instructors, at their discretion, may record their lectures and make them available for subsequent review by students as study aids. These recordings must supplement rather than replace in-person instruction.