Status

The Academic Senate has approved the return to in-person evening classes beginning Monday, May 8.

Guidelines

Guidelines for Affected Courses and Instructors (Through May 5, 2023)

  • Am I expected to teach my class remotely? Or can I cancel my class?

  • Instructors are expected to teach classes remotely and may deliver course material synchronously and/or asynchronously. On such quick notice, not all students have equal access to the resources needed to learn remotely (high-speed internet, quiet and private space, etc.), so expectations for student learning may need to be adjusted accordingly (see additional Resources for Instructional Accommodations). Not all students will be able to participate in synchronous activities. As such, synchronous activities should be recorded when possible, and assessments that require synchronous participation should be conducted in a way that will not disadvantage students who are unable to join the synchronous activity during the remote period. 

    In addition, while the vast majority of students are expected to maintain sufficient internet access to participate in remote learning, a small number may be more severely affected and unable to participate. Additional flexibility, such as allowing assignments to be completed or exams to be taken when in-person instruction resumes, may be warranted for these students.

    This situation may present hardships for instructors making it infeasible for them to teach remotely. In this case, the instructor must alert their department chair, so the chair can decide if they need to assign another instructor to maintain course continuity during this time.

    Some courses have learning activities, such as labs, studios, and lab/discussions, that cannot quickly shift to remote instruction. Instructors of these courses may cancel some class sessions in order to transition to remote instruction. Instructors who cancel classes to transition to remote instruction should alert their department chair.

    The Academic Senate Committee on Courses of Instruction (COCI) recognizes that reformatting a course or canceling some class sessions may require some revision to the course content. COCI asks that, to the extent possible, instructors maintain the curriculum originally planned for a course and, when making modifications, preserve essential information needed to achieve the course’s primary learning outcomes and ensure the course will continue to be an adequate prerequisite to subsequent courses.

Guidelines For All Courses

  • My course is not required to be taught remotely during this time. Can I still choose to teach remotely?

  • You may elect to move some of your class sessions to a remote/online format temporarily, as allowed by Virtual and Hybrid Courses policy. In-person courses that incorporate fewer than 10 online contact hours per quarter do not require additional approval.

    On such quick notice, not all students have equal access to the resources needed to learn remotely (high-speed internet, quiet and private space, etc.), so expectations for student learning may need to be adjusted accordingly (see additional Resources for Instructional Accommodations). Not all students will be able to participate in synchronous activities. As such, synchronous activities should be recorded when possible, and assessments that require synchronous participation should be conducted in a way that will not disadvantage students who are unable to join the synchronous activity during the remote period. 

    In addition, while the vast majority of students are expected to maintain sufficient internet access to participate in remote learning, a small number may be more severely affected and unable to participate. Additional flexibility, such as allowing assignments to be completed or exams to be taken when in-person instruction resumes, may be warranted for these students.

    The Academic Senate Committee on Courses of Instruction (COCI) recognizes that reformatting a course or canceling some class sessions may require some revision to the course content. COCI asks that, to the extent possible, instructors maintain the curriculum originally planned for a course and, when making modifications, preserve essential information needed to achieve the course’s primary learning outcomes and ensure the course will continue to be an adequate prerequisite to subsequent courses.

  • What are my options for a midterm exam that is scheduled during this time?

  • - Shift to a synchronous or asynchronous remote exam or a take-home exam (see best practices for remote assessments and testing). A synchronous remote exam must be held during a scheduled class session or during an out-of-class time agreed to by all students. As mentioned above, some students may not be able to participate in synchronous remote sessions. Instructors must provide an asynchronous option for these students or excuse them from the exam. An asynchronous remote exam or a take-home exam should allow at least a 24-hour completion window to ensure that students are able complete the exam around their other obligations.

    - Reschedule the exam for a later date. The exam can be held during a regularly scheduled class period, given during an out-of-class time agreed to by all students, or switched to a take-home exam due during a regularly scheduled class time. Try to notify students at least 48 hours prior to the updated exam date. See Davis Division Regulation 538 for additional information.

    - Cancel the exam and reweight the other graded material in the class. For the least disruption, try to minimize major changes to how students will be evaluated.

  • Can instructors choose to drop some assignments and put more weight on the rest of the graded material for the quarter?

  • Yes. This is at the instructor’s discretion. For the least disruption, try to minimize major changes to how students will be evaluated.

  • What is the Carnegie rule and how does it affect my decision to modify my course content?

  • Instructors who cancel one or more class sessions and plan to add activities or material from the canceled session to class sessions later in the quarter should adjust the expectation of time planned for originally scheduled activities to avoid exceeding average weekly work expectations for students. UC Davis follows the Carnegie rule, which prescribes that students are expected to complete an average of three total hours of work per week (including in-class and out-of-class time) for each course unit. For example, in a 4-unit class, students are expected to complete a total of 12 hours of work per week. Instructors must continue to respect the weekly work expectations for their courses once classes resume. See the Credit for Courses section of the Committee on Courses of Instruction’s Policies and Procedures for additional information.

  • How should I handle testing accommodations for students with accommodations documented by the Student Disability Center?

  • Instructors who reschedule in-person exams when in-person instruction resumes should contact Accommodated Exam Services(examaccom@ucdavis.edu or 530-754-2404) to coordinate new examination schedules for the students. When possible, instructors should be flexible with exam dates and times. Instructors who do not use Accommodated Exam Services should continue to make accommodations for their students, keeping in mind that flexibility will likely be needed.

    Instructors who shift to remote exams must continue to provide students the accommodations specified in their letters from the Student Disability Center (SDC). Instructors should contact the SDC Specialist(s) who signed the Letter of Accommodation for the student(s) and/or reach out to sdc@ucdavis.edu or 530-752-3184 if they have any questions.

  • Will anything change for instructional accommodations for students with documented disabilities?

  • Instructors must continue to provide students with documented disabilities the accommodations specified in their letters from the Student Disability Center (SDC) during emergency remote instruction. The shift to remote instruction may imply additional or different accommodations for these students. Instructors should contact the SDC Specialist(s) who signed the Letter of Accommodation for the student(s) and/or reach out to sdc@ucdavis.edu or 530-752-3184 if they have any questions.

  • Where can instructors get advice or tips on how to create online videos for their courses?

  • The Offices of Undergraduate Education and Information and Educational Technology (IET) have compiled resources to assist instructors in recording video and providing other instructional materials remotely via Canvas or other platforms. See the Keep Teaching and Aggie Video websites.

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