June 8, 2020
This message is distributed to All-Instructors, Academic-Assistant-Deans, and Academic-Department-Managers.
The following is being sent on behalf of Undergraduate Education and Graduate Division
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To: Fall 2020 Instructors
From: Jeff Stopple, Associate Vice Chancellor, Undergraduate Education
Carol Genetti, Dean, Graduate Division
Linda Adler-Kassner, Associate Dean, Undergraduate Education
Re: Instructional Options for Fall 2020
As we conclude this remarkably challenging Spring Quarter, we thank you again for your extraordinary efforts and dedication to our students. Everyone has worked tirelessly to offer instruction during a period of national and international crisis, and we want to support your activities moving forward.
We are writing to follow up on our previous communications about options for instruction in the Fall Quarter and to provide updates about the planning process that will guide further discussions.
As you know, in the context of efforts to plan for a partial resumption of academic activities on campus, each department was asked to review its curriculum and to propose (in the context of strict safety protocols and expected state and county guidelines) how its faculty would like to deliver their instruction in the Fall. In considering the formats and pedagogical practices for their Fall courses, departments and faculty were asked to identify:
- large courses that would have to be delivered remotely;
- courses that could be (and ideally would be) delivered in-person;
- and courses in which some components could be delivered remotely and some in-person.
We indicated that support would be provided to help instructors prepare and design courses and encouraged faculty to be flexible, innovative, and creative. We want to reiterate that if faculty would like to conduct more in-person instruction, we will work to help implement that goal wherever possible, within the requirements and guidelines provided by the State, County, and the UC Office of the President.
Departmental plans have been submitted and are being reviewed by the deans in the context of curricular planning and an inventory of suitable classrooms that accounts for physical distancing and reduced occupancy capacity, separate entrances and exits, ventilation and air flow, and other relevant factors, such as scheduling, cleaning, and seat assignment protocols.
Some departments have made department-wide decisions about how they will deliver their instruction in the Fall. We understand that there may be instructors (including graduate student instructors) and students who cannot safely return to the classroom and that others may have child care responsibilities that complicate their schedules. Like most universities in California and in the country, we recognize the necessity of remote instruction in the majority of courses, even for those students who are able to return to campus.
At the same time, because we hope that a significant number of students will be able to return in the Fall, and we know that many students strongly wish to resume some form of in-person learning guided by faculty, we encourage instructors to consider additional in-person courses or strategies to supplement those courses taught remotely with in-person instruction, as much as is feasible for those students and faculty who are present on campus, consistent with all public health guidelines and requirements.
Santa Barbara County is in the first phase of Stage 2 of the Governor’s California Resilience Roadmap. Higher Education is currently listed in Stage 3. The Chancellor’s COVID-19 Response Working Group is coordinating efforts, informed by scientific, medical, and public health expertise, as well as best practices being developed for higher education, to plan a careful, managed, and phased return to limited on-campus activities in the Fall, if it is allowed by public health agencies. As the Chancellor has explained, we are making progress in campus efforts to establish and expand our testing capabilities, consistent with UC, State, and Federal guidelines and requirements. The County will be responsible for contact tracing. The phased plan for a limited return to laboratories and research facilities, concurrent with on-campus testing, is a pilot project that will help us plan for the Fall. Housing has formulated plans to accommodate a reduced number of students in residence and dining halls.
We want to reiterate that even a limited resumption of on-campus instructional activities is predicated on the following elements being in place:
- robust testing and contact tracing capabilities;
- mandatory face coverings;
- classroom conditions that allow for physical distancing;
- increased cleaning of facilities;
- reduced density and reduced number of contacts.
These are preconditions for any return to on-campus instructional activities. We will not schedule in-person classes if the Chancellor’s COVID-19 Response Working Group is not satisfied that these criteria have been met.
CITRAL and Instructional Development are eager to work with faculty who wish to explore the feasibility of some in-person instruction (as well as those who wish to continue improving their remote courses). We know that our most vulnerable students, including first-generation students and students from under-represented groups, can be the most disadvantaged by remote learning. We are concerned about the effects of remote education on these students, and we know that our faculty want to provide the direct support that our students need. In these troubling times, students strongly feel the loss of community. Remote instruction also has made many demands on faculty and graduate student instructors as emergency conditions have compelled them to rethink their pedagogical practices. We are offering a summer institute and other workshops for instructors who wish to enhance or redesign their remote courses through inclusive and innovative practices centered around student experience. We also stand ready to help faculty who wish to (a) revisit the viability of in-person courses, (b) integrate in-person components into their classes, or (c) plan some pedagogical supplements or co-curricular activities in connection with their courses.
Please contact either AVC Jeff Stopple (stopple@ucsb.edu) or Associate Dean Linda Adler-Kassner (ladler@ucsb.edu) if you would like to discuss such possibilities further.
Thank you again for your commitment to our students and our community.
cc: Henning Bohn, Academic Senate Chair
Susannah Scott, Academic Senate Chair Designate
Deans