Instructors’ support of our students

This message to all faculty and instructors has been approved by Janet Kistner, Vice President for Faculty Development and Advancement.

Thanks for everything you are doing to bring the spring semester to a successful completion. The speed with which our face-to-face classes were transformed to online delivery is impressive and a credit to all of you. And for those of you who have never taught online, a special thanks for pulling out all the stops to make the transition to remote teaching in record time.

Due to the disruptions associated with COVID-19, students in most of our undergraduate courses have the option to switch from letter to S/U grades. Students have until April 12 to decide whether or not to switch to S/U grades. To make this decision, students are checking their grades in Canvas. Please do your best to enter the grades for quizzes, tests, and assignments already completed so that students are as informed as possible about whether a switch to S/U grades is in their best interest.

Finally, as I hope you all know, your interactions with students, albeit at a distance, are vital to their well-being as they cope with the many COVID-related changes in their lives. They, like all of us, have lost a familiar sense of community. Please do all that you can to keep them engaged in your courses and connected to you and their fellow classmates.

Again, thanks for all you do for our students.

Janet Kistner

Vice President for Faculty Development and Advancement