Summer 2021
Courses not previously approved for online delivery via the INDEV process may be taught online for Summer 2021. Faculty are encouraged work with their Chairs and Directors to adjust summer course offerings as needed.
In order to the streamline the syllabi collection process, we will be reaching out to the Chairs and Directors of each unit regarding summer 2021 courses. Note that only syllabi that have not been approved for online delivery or previously submitted in Summer 2020, Fall 2021, or Spring 2021, will be needed.
Claudia Benitez-Nelson
Associate Dean for Instruction, Community Engagement, and Research
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(Forwarded on behalf of the Office of the Provost)
For Distribution to Deans, Academic Unit Heads and Faculty:
On Wednesday, March 3rd, Faculty Senate approved an amendment to the blanket approval
for online course delivery during the COVID-19 emergency. This amendment allows the
Faculty Steering Committee to determine the duration of this blanket approval. The
Steering Committee intends to follow the guidance of public health experts in this
matter and believes that an emergency condition warranting the exemption will exist
so long as social distancing and masking protocols are required in our classrooms.
Therefore, the Steering Committee has announced that the blanket approval will apply
to the summer 2021 semester. Courses may now be scheduled for the summer semester
with an online instructional method without being approved by the InDev Committee
and Faculty Senate.
Those faculty teaching online courses that have not been approved by Faculty Senate
to be delivered in that modality this summer:
a) must submit to their unit head the course syllabus, to be delivered to InDev
via the Office of Distributed Learning (ODL) prior to the first day of scheduled classes;
and
b) are encouraged to work collaboratively with the Center for Teaching Excellence
(CTE) and/or ODL for course development and to ensure adherence to best practices
in online teaching.
While approval to offer courses in an online format is a Senate matter, the decision
to schedule particular courses/sections resides with colleges and departments. This
decision, therefore, qualifies the Provost’s letter to faculty on Jan. 8 2021 only
with respect to the online approval exemption.
The summer and fall semester schedules are now live in Self Service Carolina. Course
modality should not change for the summer or fall semesters because students start
to register for courses next week. Individual faculty may change the modality of
a course that they are teaching only if a) they have documented change in health status
putting them at high risk for COVID or b) a large portion of their class is out with
documented illness or quarantine and then the modality is changed only for a limited
amount of time. The health and safety of our campus community remains a top priority.
Should the ongoing pandemic force a change in our fall plans, we are confident will
be able to communicate and implement those changes when the need arises.