Strike Flexibilities and Guidance

Overview

This webpage is limited to questions of academic policy under authority of the Davis Division of the Academic Senate. Please visit UC Davis Strike Updates and Support for the latest administrative guidance.

Flexibilities and Guidance

Strike Resources and Communications

Winter 2023

Instructor Guidance

Asynchronous Instructional Allowances

Due to uncertainty in the availability of TA support in winter 2023, the Committee on Courses of Instruction (COCI) is allowing certain types of in-person instructional hours to be offered asynchronously so that instructors can maintain course learning outcomes with reduced instructional support.

Instructors are allowed to:

  • Adjust some or all lecture hours to asynchronous so that normally scheduled lecture times can be used for in-person discussion or lab content (or studio/rehearsal/listening/other related activities). An instructor's in-person contact hours cannot be reduced by this change.
  • Adjust some or all normally TA-led, in-person lab hours to asynchronous.
  • Adjust some or all normally TA-led, in-person discussion sections (or studio/rehearsal/listening/other related activities) to asynchronous.

To be eligible for these adjustments, instructors must abide by the following:

  • The course must normally have assigned TAs.
  • In-person learning activities cannot be adjusted to synchronous remote activities, only to asynchronous remote activities.
  • Instructors must maintain as much in-person instructional time with students as they do in the normal course offering (e.g., if an instructor was scheduled to teach three hours of in-person lecture, then they need to continue to offer three hours of in-person instruction each week, though it may be in the form of different learning activities, as described above).
  • Course adjustments must not affect a student’s schedule (e.g., the instructor cannot combine all lab sections or discussion sections because it may lead to scheduling conflicts for students).
  • Students must be alerted in the syllabus that they must continue to remain available during their normally scheduled course meeting times, for when the course is able to return to normal instructional activities.

Time limits:

  • COCI will allow these course adjustments to remain in place for up to two weeks after the end of the strike, at which point courses must return to their normal instructional modes.

Notifications/requests:

  • If you will be making any of these adjustments to your course, you must notify COCI via this Qualtrics survey by January 4, 2023.
  • If you would like to request a different kind of adjustment, please submit your request via the same Qualtrics survey. A COCI representative will respond to you as soon as possible. Please note that COCI will not consider requests related to synchronous remote instruction, whereby an instructor teaches the class fully remotely instead of in person. Instructors seeking that type of accommodation must follow the existing campus accommodation process through Disability Management Services.  

Fall 2022

Student Flexibilities

Guidance on Undergraduate Passed/Not Passed (P/NP) Grading

P/NP deadline extension

The deadline for undergraduate students to opt for P/NP grading in a course, or to revert back to letter grading, has been extended to the last day of instruction (December 2, 2022) for fall 2022.

No changes have been made to P/NP unit caps, and you must be in good academic standing to opt for P/NP grading. P/NP grading may not be allowed for major courses (please consult your colleges and advisors).

View instructions for choosing P/NP in Schedule Builder.

Factors for students to consider

P/NP usage can be complex. Students should consider potential consequences related to satisfactory academic progress, time to degree, financial aid, and postgraduate study requirements. Students should review this Academic Senate FAQ and further information from the Office of the Registrar, and should consult their advisors about P/NP usage.

Guidance on Graduate Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory (S/U) Grading

S/U deadline extension

Graduate students will have until the last day of instruction (December 2, 2022) to submit a Grading Option Change Petition for fall 2022. Graduate students and Graduate Faculty Advisors should first read the Important Considerations guidelines.

Instructor Guidance

As you make adjustments in response to the strike, consider the following:

Attendance Policies

Some students have had trouble traveling to class with transportation disruptions. Please be mindful when using attendance-based grading. 

Final Examinations

Final exams remain required for fall 2022 undergraduate courses (final exams at UC Davis are governed by Davis Division Regulation 538). As noted in Systemwide Senate guidance, canceling a final exam may deprive a student of the chance to raise their grade, and it’s important that students are protected from arbitrary evaluation of their academic work.

That said, understandably, final exam logistics could be challenging, particularly in large classes. You should consult with your department chairs if you need additional reader support. There are also a few options you can consider to modify your final exams while adhering to policy:

  • Consider adjusting your final exam format, content, or length. Consider if you can switch to a format that allows for automatic grading (e.g., scantron).
    • Please note that remote final examinations (meaning, synchronous exams that are administered remotely instead of in-person during your assigned final exam time slot) are not permitted, except as already approved for certain hybrid and virtual courses.
  • Substitute a take-home exam, which will allow students a more flexible window of time to take the exam. Take-home exams cannot be due earlier than your course’s regularly scheduled final examination period, as determined by the Registrar’s Office.