June 23, 2020

This message is distributed to SBCHR-L, Academic-Assistant-Deans, and Academic-Department-Managers.  (Click here to view description of distribution groups.)  

The following is being sent on behalf of Jeffrey Stopple, Associate Vice Chancellor, Office of Undergraduate Education
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Dear Department Chairs,

Now that spring quarter has ended, and the Chancellor’s memo 'COVID-19 Update: Fall Planning' has gone out, we are working on structuring the fall schedule. As a first step, we are letting you know that all the courses that departments have proposed as remote (fully online) are approved to be given in that format.  Please let your faculty know.

The Registrar’s Office will be reaching out to the scheduling contact in your department to inquire whether these remote classes are synchronous, fully asynchronous, or asynchronous with synchronous components.  As soon as this information is available, all these classes will be listed on the schedule as remote (online), replacing the original physical room assignment.  Remote courses with any synchronous elements will retain their originally scheduled time block, while fully asynchronous classes will not have a time listed.

In a few cases, based on the comments submitted or public health guidelines, courses which were submitted under the ‘mixed’ or ‘face to face’ categories have been re-assigned to the remote category. Those faculty will be informed individually very soon, and we will cc department chairs on each communication. We will still need to know whether these re-assigned courses have any synchronous component or will be fully asynchronous. Instructors who wished to teach in person but cannot do so because the class enrollment was over 50 may wish to consider hybrid models that would preserve some in-person attendance. They should contact me if they wish to explore such options.

For those classes which remain in the categories of mixed or fully in-person, we are working to locate appropriate space. This will likely be an ongoing process through the month of July, and we may not be able to accommodate all requests. While the room scheduling process is under way, all physical room assignments will be cleared and listed as ‘room TBD’. Room assignments will be made based on our strict safety protocols that ensure physical distancing, maximum occupancy capacity, air flow, traffic flow, and time for cleaning at regular intervals.

Thank you for all you are doing to support our students.  Let me know if you have questions, jstopple@ltsc.ucsb.edu.

Best Regards,

Jeffrey Stopple
Associate Vice Chancellor
Office of Undergraduate Education