University Community

Important faculty update, March 15, 2020

The following message was shared with Ohio University faculty on March 15, 2020.

Dear Colleagues, 

Thank you for your supportive responses to this unprecedented situation. We deeply appreciate all of the offers for help; many faculty members have stepped forward to assist their colleagues with preparing to teach online. We hope that you will continue to reach out both to offer help and to ask for it as necessary. 

While we recognize that many have already put in many hours before the extension of spring break was announced, we provided an extension through Sunday, March 22 to allow additional time for you to shift your courses to remote delivery. The additional time also will enable us to help identify and support students who may have challenges related to technology and broadband access. More information about this will be available soon. 

This situation is quickly evolving. The state of Ohio has seen a rapid increase from three confirmed cases to 26 in less than a week, and we know that the virus can be transmitted before an infected person develops symptoms. Especially as many faculty, staff, and community members return home from traveling over spring break, it is critically important to decrease the opportunities for the infection to spread in our communities. While we will continue to provide regular communications and updates as more information becomes available, we may be required to change previous guidance or decisions to ensure an appropriate response to new information and local, state, and federal directives. Our priorities remain the well-being of our students, faculty, and staff and our shared commitment to our students’ education. These next weeks and months will require that we work together with patience and compassion for each other and for our broader communities.  

Updates: 

  • Additional information about many of the items below and other related topics can be found on the FAQs at www.ohio.edu/coronavirus.
  • Spring Break has been extended for students through Sunday, March 22, for all classes, including currently online courses. The end date of Spring Semester has not changed at this time. 
  • All face-to-face instruction for all campuses and locations of Ohio University has been suspended through the end of the Spring Semester. All courses will be offered through remote teaching beginning Monday, March 23. 
  • All faculty are asked to contact students in each of their classes on or before Monday, March 23 to share how their class will continue for the first week after our extended Spring Break. 
  • You may contact students through e-mail, the Faculty and Advising Center (available at https://www.ohio.edu/registrar), or Blackboard (blackboard.ohio.edu). 
  • Faculty Senate has organized a group of faculty with online teaching experience to offer one-on-one assistance. This list of faculty is updated regularly on the Faculty Senate website: www.ohio.edu/faculty-senate. 
  • Guidance for field experiences, clinical placements and practica, performance and ensemble classes, or similar classes or activities is being finalized as soon as possible and will be communicated when available. 
  • All  academic and administrative units on all campuses and locations have been asked to create remote work plans that identify any and all employees (faculty, administrative staff, Classified, or bargaining unit) who can do all or a portion of their work remotely and ask them to transition to a remote work environment beginning Monday, March 16, and until further notice.
  • Information about graduate student workers, work study students, and other student workers is available on the university FAQ site (www.ohio.edu/coronavirus). Generally, student hourly employees will not work on any campus or location until further notice. Students should not return to campus to work. Remote work for students is encouraged.  
  • Graduate students holding appointments: It is anticipated that meaningful work will be available for all graduate students with Teaching, Research, and Graduate Assistantships, and that these students will continue to receive their current stipend for the remainder of the semester regardless of whether the modality of their work changes. Graduate student work that continues remotely does not need prior approval; however, all on-campus work requires prior authorization from the student's supervisor, college dean, and provost. For specific information, see ohio.edu/coronavirus. Undergraduate students and graduate students engaged in research or creative activity for academic credit or to complete degree requirements should follow the guidance for Research Assistants in the FAQ.
  • IMPORTANT UPDATED TRAVEL GUIDANCE: As announced earlier this week, any employee who has recently traveled to country that has a CDC Level 3 Travel Health Notice or who believes they may have been exposed to COVID-19 should not to return to work for at least 14 days and should contact their local health department immediately for further information. In addition, any employee who has recently traveled outside their campus community to an area with confirmed COVID-19 cases may not return to in-person work on campus for 14 days. 
  • With the extension of online courses for the rest of spring semester, students are being asked to not return to Athens except to move out of the residence halls when allowed. They will receive more information about this on Monday, March 16; move out will be arranged by time and location to minimize contact. Students with critical housing needs will continue to be accommodated through an exception process. Please direct any student questions you receive about this to Housing and Residence Life.    

Currently: 

  • There are no known cases of COVID-19 at any of our campuses or involving any of our faculty, staff, or students. There is now one confirmed case at Cleveland State University.
  • There are now 26 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the state of Ohio as well as instances of community transmission (as of 3/14/2020). The Governor of Ohio declared a state of emergency on March 9, and cities in Ohio are beginning to declare city-level emergencies as they prepare to respond to the pandemic (e.g., Cincinnati).
  • The CDC has classified all countries outside the United States as Level 2 or Level 3 at this point. Executive leadership has mandated that all students on semester-long international study away experiences return to the U.S. by March 20. Those students should return to their permanent residences, not to their campus. All University-sponsored travel, domestic and international, continues to be suspended until further notice. 

Information:

The latest information can be found at the following websites: 

Each campus/college has identified a remote teaching coordinator (RTC) to act as the contact person for faculty within that campus/college who may have questions about moving their courses to distance learning. The list of these RTCs can be found at the end of this communication. 

In addition, Faculty Senate has organized a group of faculty with online teaching experience to offer one-on-one help. This list can be found on the Faculty Senate website and will be updated regularly at https://www.ohio.edu/faculty-senate. Please contact Robin Muhammad (dearmon@ohio.edu) to be included in this group. Several colleges also are pulling together teams to assist faculty within their departments or schools.  

The Office of Instructional Innovation, the Office of Information Technology, and University Libraries have scheduled a series of virtual workshops and drop-in consultations to help faculty with the transition to remote teaching and learning. These workshops will cover the basics of teaching online as well as using technology (e.g., Blackboard and Teams). Subject librarians will be available during all the sessions to assist with ensuring student access to content. These sessions continue over this weekend and into next week. More information can be found by clicking on the Support and Office Hours and Live Workshop Sessions links at https://www.ohio.edu/keep-teaching/resources-and-support. 

Ohio University, including all campuses and locations, remains open. While all academic and administrative units are transitioning to remote work where possible beginning Monday, March 16, we recognize that some faculty and staff may need to come to campus to access appropriate equipment or broadband in order to do their work. Those employees should arrange their environment to support social distancing, hold appointments and meetings virtually, and practice other prevention measures. Similarly, students who lack adequate technology or broadband access who live close to a campus or location may continue to use our libraries and computer labs. Additional guidance is available on the CDC web site at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prepare/prevention.html.  

Given the rapidly changing situation, we will continue to reevaluate policies as we receive new information. We recognize that many faculty members are away from campus, and we thank you for both your quick responses and your understanding. We realize that this situation will cause upheaval and challenges for each of you, both professionally as we transition to remote teaching and learning, but also personally, whether it’s identifying child care as K-12 schools close, supporting elderly parents, or finding needed supplies. It is hard to express how grateful we are to all who have stepped forward to help each other and our students during this difficult time. While we all hope for a quick return to normal operations, we will continue to hold the wellbeing of our students, faculty, and staff paramount, and we remain committed to ensuring that our students can meet their academic requirements. We ask you to be flexible with your students as they adjust to these changing circumstances. Most importantly, please continue to take care of yourselves and each other as we all do our part to prevent transmission of COVID-19. 

Sincerely,  
Robin Muhammad
Chair, Faculty Senate

Elizabeth Sayrs
Executive Vice President and Provost

 

Remote Teaching Coordinators for each Campus/College: 

Center for International Studies:
Cat Cutcher, Director of Global Studies
740-597-2756 

College of Arts and Sciences:
Brian McCarthy, Senior Associate Dean for Faculty, Graduate Studies, and Research
740-593-2979 

College of Business: 
Luke Pittaway, Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs
740-593-2022 

College of Fine Arts: 
Maureen Wagner, Assistant Dean 
740-593-1813 

College of Health Sciences and Professions: 
Sally Marinellie, Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs
740-593-4714 

George Voinovich School: 
Alex Murray, Director of Online Academic Programs
740-593-9798 

Patton College of Education: 
Connie Patterson, Assistant Dean
740-593-0084 

Regional Higher Education: 
Carissa Anderson, Assistant Dean
740-593-4768 

Russ College of Engineering and Technology: 
Deb McAvoy, Associate Dean
740-593-1468 

Scripps College of Communication 
Greg Newton, Associate Dean
740-597-1882 

University College
Ebony Green, Assistant Dean
740-593-1935 

Tags:
Coronavirus
FacultyEmailCOVID19
Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost
Published
March 15, 2020
Author
Staff reports