The Office of the Provost has asked for creativity and flexibility in how faculty delivers content and assess performance as we make up for class time lost due to weather conditions. Options suggested include:

"Doubling-up" on material in subsequent classes

The key to teaching in a compressed format involves restructuring your course content. Rather than simply covering the same amount of material at a faster pace, you will likely need to condense or eliminate some material and focus only on the most important aspects of the course. In restructuring the balance of your course, best practice suggests that you should revisit the stated outcomes of the course and work to design class activities that will enable the student to achieve any objectives not already met. For additional information, see Kops, B. (2011) "Teaching in Compressed Formats: Learning from Faculty Best Practices" from Path to Pedagogy (19, 2), a newsletter produced by the University of Manitoba's University Teaching Services.

Offering Material Online

Offering an online class session can be an ideal way to keep students current following a period of disruption in class scheduling. The university's Blackboard system contains all the tools you need to create an asynchronous make-up class session. For step-by-step guidance, the Center for Teaching Excellence has created the Tips for Creating an Online Class Session guide to assist those who would like to offer a make-up class session online.

Providing Handouts for Student Self-study

As with "doubling up," self-study activities should be geared toward helping students achieve the stated outcomes of the course. In addition to providing required readings, you might want to consider assigning individual or collaborative learning experiences to complement the study materials. For example, students who participated in volunteer efforts over the past week could reflect on how the experience relates to their course content and learning outcomes.

Offering an Extra Class Session

For those offering an extra class session to make-up the missed session, remember that faculty should not penalize students for failure to attend a make-up class session outside of the regularly scheduled time slot. Also, note that make-up classes cannot be required on Reading Day.