3/9/2020 4:29 PM

TO: Faculty
SUBJECT: COVID-19–Message to Faculty

Dear Colleagues,

As the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to spread, we are doing everything possible to protect the health and safety of our students, faculty, and staff.  Administration has been communicating about how the community can take precautions, with information delivered via email.

We are preparing for the potential situation in which members of our University community become ill or under quarantine.  We will ensure our students continue to receive an excellent education, quality support services, and extracurricular experiences if faced with such a circumstance.

To this end, I ask all faculty members and academic administrators to take the actions outlined below.

Faculty

To minimize the disruption of educational delivery these guidelines should be implemented, recognizing courses such as labs, studio art courses, and experiences in the field may not be able to follow all these guidelines.  As you consider these guidelines be as creative as appropriate to ensure the meeting of course objectives.

Beginning Session 4, the professor/instructor of record for each course should:

1. Have a complete and regularly updated gradebook in uiuLearn. This will ensure if the professor/instructor becomes ill or is under quarantine, an accurate record of all assignment scores will be accessible, so students can receive their course grades in a timely manner.
2. Place all key course documents (e.g., syllabi, assignments, readings) in uiuLearn so students may access them remotely even if unable to come to the campus or a center due to illness or quarantine. Ensure coursework and exams can be reliably collected and graded, preferably through uiuLearn, and the course grades computed and submitted, even if the professor/instructor becomes ill or are quarantined.
3. Plan how to adjust course policies related to class attendance so as not to penalize students who become ill, are placed under quarantine, or are home caring for an ill family member.
4. Consider lecture capture – using Zoom or Panopto – of your course.

It is important these steps are taken to ensure continuity of our students’ education. To access how-to’s and tutorials please go to https://uiu.edu/online/resources/facultyuiulearn.html where all are provided in alphabetical order. If you encounter challenges for any of these steps above, please notify your department chair.

• To meet the ADA needs of quarantined professors/instructors or students who arranged accommodation, work with Disability Services Director Colleen Irvine ([email protected], 563.425.5949).
• For assistance with items involving getting your course fully online in uiuLearn, please contact your instructional designer:
• School of Business and Professional Studies — Jeff Childs: [email protected], 563-425-5168; Erin Yourison: [email protected], 563-425-5988; Caryl Cushion [email protected], 563-425-5163.
• School of Arts and Sciences — Kristal Davenport: [email protected], 563-425-5951; Michelle Klingfus: [email protected], 563-425-5973; Noriza Abu Hassan Shaari: [email protected], 563-425-5239; Jared Roller: [email protected], 563-425-5166.
• Andres School of Education — Eryn Ische: [email protected], 563-425-5254.

Academic Administrators (chairs, deans)

Work with all faculty members in your School or Department to ensure they take the steps outlined above.  Make contingency plans for how your department will keep courses running if a professor/instructor becomes ill or are quarantined.

Should this advanced preparation need to be implemented, you will be notified where implementation will be required. All communication notifying students will be sent from the Office of the President.

Thank you all for taking these steps to support our students’ academic success in the face of the challenges posed by COVID-19.

Gail Moorman Behrens, Ed.D.
Interim Provost