From Provost Arden: Communication with Students by Wednesday, Mar. 18

MEMORANDUM

TO:  All NC State Instructors of Record, Spring 2020

FROM:  Warwick Arden, Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost

SUBJECT: Communication with Students by Wednesday, March 18

DATE:  March 16, 2020

First, let me offer my profound thanks to each of you for your innovation, creativity and dedication to excellence during these unprecedented circumstances. I know this situation has created challenges for all of us, and I appreciate your willingness to make rapid changes in courses so that students may continue their education this semester. These changes are not easy, and I respect what each of you is doing to prioritize your students’ learning in the midst of a stressful and confusing time.

Students are away for a second week of spring break and are seeking information to make travel and other plans and to be prepared for classes resuming on Monday, March 23. As you recall, on March 11, I sent a memo to all NC State Instructors of Record asking you to convene courses using alternate methods, not face-to-face, starting March 23. Exceptions will be allowed in limited circumstances and must be approved by your college.

No later than Wednesday, March 18 at 6 p.m. EST, contact your students to begin sharing the pertinent information they need for when classes resume. As we suggest on NC State’s Keep Teaching website, communicate the following to your students right away:

• Confirmation of your plans to deliver your course remotely or, with an approved exception from your college, to continue face-to-face;
• Information about the remote delivery platform you will use, if known;
• Your current expectations for checking email and using Google, Moodle or other tools;
• The availability of the NC State Help Desk (also 919-515-4357/HELP) to assist students who need support using technologies in your or other courses; and
• An estimate of when you plan to be in touch with them again with additional details.

Most importantly, please convey calm, as students will follow your lead. Reassuring students that everything will be fine with the course will help them remain positive and engaged. It’s okay if you aren’t sure how everything will work over the next few weeks; the students aren’t sure either. Letting them know that you will be figuring things out with them will go a long way in helping them manage changes.

If you receive an exception to continue face-to-face delivery for your class, keep in mind that your course may be the only one for which a student needs to return to campus and they may be uncomfortable with that scenario. Please be flexible with these students.

Additionally, your college will be working with you and Registration and Records to make changes regarding course delivery in our Student Information System (SIS). This effort to update SIS will give us a critical institutional view into courses still operating face-to-face and ensure that an important resource for students has the most current information.

Please continue using this week to get the elements of your continuity plan in place, communicate with your students, and make sure that you have the materials or the technology at hand to implement your plan. Keep in mind that my office, together with the Office of Faculty Development, DELTA and NC State University Libraries, has developed resources and workshops to help with your course continuity plans. These include:

• Online resources: Keep Teaching is NC State’s online resource to help you develop continuity plans and use university-supported tools to maintain courses during a disruption. This site includes a basic template with several questions to consider as you develop your plans. 
• Workshops: Online workshops, designed for instructors who want guidance in constructing and implementing academic continuity plans for their courses, are being offered throughout the month of March. Workshop information is available at reporter.ncsu.edu by searching for “continuity.” 
• Hardware: NC State is purchasing additional peripherals, such as web and document cameras, and a limited number of additional laptop computers for instructors’ use during this time. NC State Libraries will serve as a check-out point if you need equipment that your department does not already have available. 
• Local consultation: Your department head, unit leader, and dean’s office are always important resources for local information, including how to request continuation of face-to-face instruction in a course. 

As you reach out to your students early this week, I and other institutional leaders continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation and make decisions at the university level to further reduce risk to our campus. Please continue to visit www.ncsu.edu/coronavirus for updates and guidance. 

Thank you again for all of your efforts.

Link to PDF version of memo.