Thank you for sharing the following important information with key staff and all instructors, and  please let me know as questions arise.  Some of this information is also available on these CLAS Faculty pages: https://clas.uiowa.edu/faculty/undergraduate-teaching-policies-resources/pandemic-policies.

ACE Evaluations
This fall, the new ACE questions were used and will also be used this spring: https://ace.uiowa.edu/frequently-asked-questions.

• We suspect that responses may appear to be low from Fall 2020 since the final undergraduate drop deadline was moved from early November to December 18. Some students dropped courses late in the semester and therefore did not complete ACE evaluations.
• Keep in mind that this pattern is true across CLAS and the UI and is not a sign of student disengagement in any one particular course.
• Please read your evaluations carefully, considering student suggestions and feedback and how best to support students in your Spring 2021 courses.
• Please also consider short and simple anonymous surveys using ICON once the semester begins in order to receive feedback on topics important to your class but not included on the ACE forms.
• Students appreciate that instructors listen and take their suggestions seriously even if it is not possible to implement the requested changes.

Understanding TALA Policies and Procedures
TALA stands for Temporary Alternative Learning Arrangements and is designed for students who meet one or more of the criteria for populations listed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as being more vulnerable to COVID-19. 

The deadline for students to apply for TALA was Friday, Nov. 20, 2020. The process is now closed and applications are no longer accepted. Please refer students to this TALA page for other resources and information. 

• TALA status does not guarantee students a seat in an online course and TALA status is  not considered a course accommodation.
• Students with TALA status who request online modifications for an in-person or hybrid course should be advised that instructors have designed their courses around the offered modalities and may not be able to offer online options.
• In some cases, students may need to take the course for graduation or other requirements. Please refer these students to faculty in your area who make decisions about course substitutions (i.e., Director of Undergraduate Studies or DEO).
• Students needing to fulfill a GE requirement should be referred to the MyUI schedule and to their advisor for help finding an online GE course.
• Students with GE questions or otherwise in need of help may also be referred to the CLAS undergraduate office: CLAS Academic Programs and Student Development, 319 335-2633 or clasps@uiowa.edu.

Changes in Course Modalities
We expect in-person courses to stay in-person or to move from in-person to online and then to return to an in-person format as soon as possible.

• Before the start of the semester, any changes in modalities for undergraduate courses need permission from CLAS. Please discuss this matter with your DEO who may then email a request and its justification to cornelia-lang@uiowa.edu.
• After the start of the semester, courses with an enrollment of fewer than 50 students and offered in-person also will need CLAS permission to change modalities (even temporarily) unless UI indicates all courses will move online; again, be sure to discuss this matter with your DEO who may then email a request and its justification to cornelia-lang@uiowa.edu.
• Any approvals for a change in modality will require that the course continues in its current format (i.e., synchronous courses must remain synchronous for both lectures and discussions, meeting at the same days and times and with the instructor and TAs present at those meetings).

Resources for Instructors
Please consider using some of these ideas from the Center for Teaching and the Office of Teaching, Learning, and Technology to create a better student experience and to save time later:

• Visit the updated and reorganized Keep Teaching Iowa webpages; see https://teach.uiowa.edu/keep-teaching-iowa.
• The webinar Five Strategies to Improve Your Course is available here: https://teach.uiowa.edu/recorded-webinars (just scroll to the very bottom of the page). Related slides also are an excellent resource: https://teach.uiowa.edu/sites/teach.uiowa.edu/files/wysiwyg_uploads/5strategiesimproveyourcourse.pdf
• Consider using this ICON template to organize content and delivery in ICON. This has received praise from both instructors and students, bringing a more logical organization to ICON materials: https://teach.uiowa.edu/preparing-your-virtual-course (the link to the template is the second one on this page).
• Multiple training events are available before classes start: https://teach.its.uiowa.edu/events/upcoming. These sessions include Creating Peer to Peer Engagement with ICON Tools; Managing Synchronous Online Classes in a Zoom Interactive Practice Session; and many other topics.
• Individual consultations are ALWAYS available; simply click on the “Request Help” button on the Keep Teaching Iowa site.

Syllabi for Spring 2021
Please check your syllabi to ensure these key dates are correct and that Spring Break is not included on your calendar of assignments.

First day of classes: Monday, January 25
Non-instruction days: Tuesday, March  2 and Wednesday, April 14

• Classes are canceled on these two days; no assignments may given and no work may be due on these days. This policy applies to all forms of organized classes, including lectures, discussions, and labs. Likewise, office hours should be canceled.
• These two non-instruction days are designed to give instructors and students a “brief respite” during the semester since Spring Break has been canceled.

Last day of classes: Friday, May 7
Final Exam Week: Monday, May 10 through Friday, May 14
There is no Spring Break during Spring 2021.

Additional Required Syllabus Components
As with Fall 2020, we ask that you include this information in your spring syllabi:

Office Hours: Many faculty are now using the term “Drop-In Hours” to encourage student visits during office hours. Drop-in hours generally should be held virtually to reduce exposure to the virus; however, instructors may meet in an office with students if necessary and if students and the instructor are able to follow health directives on social distancing and on wearing a face mask. In addition, some instructors are finding that having students sign up online for 15-minute appointments during office hours is an effective way to encourage students to attend.

Course Modality: The syllabus for each course must show the course delivery modality for Spring 2021. Please use direct and simple language rather than jargon while discussing the modality as approved and appearing on the MyUI schedule.

Sample Syllabus Statement
Our course will meet both virtually and in person. On Mondays: Live lectures via Zoom at 1:30-2:20, with short quizzes given during the lecture. On Wednesday and Fridays: In-person discussions and activities in your assigned classroom at 1:30-2:20. Your classroom appears on the course schedule and on your personal schedule in MyUI.

A Word on Student Absences
These materials may be helpful as you outline absence policies for Spring. COVID-19 cases and student absences because of COVID-19 related reasons will continue to be reported daily to instructors via ICON as they were during Fall 2020.

Absences, Attendance, and Best Practices: Undergraduates
Absences: Handling Longer Absences
Absence Form for CLAS Undergraduates

Final Exams
Below are some of the longstanding CLAS undergraduate policies and procedures about final exams (also see https://clas.uiowa.edu/faculty/examination-policies-and-best-practices).

• No exams or quizzes may be given the week before the final examination week without permission from CLAS. 
• Final examinations for semester-length courses must be given during the one-week period set aside by the University for this purpose and at the date and time fixed by the Registrar so that exam conflicts do not occur.
• Off-cycle courses that also end during the last week of classes must give final exams during that last week of classes; in other words, off-cycle courses may not schedule final exams during Final Exam Week but have an exception to the CLAS final exam policy.
• Take-home final exams may use the scheduled final exam period as the last possible time that the take-home exam may be submitted; the class may receive the take-home questions whenever the instructor chooses.
• In courses where papers or projects rather than a final examination constitute the last evaluation activity, instructors may choose to use the scheduled final exam period as the due date for the project/paper and may use this time as well for any related presentations.  
• A final assessment that is a paper or project rather than an exam may also be due earlier in the semester, including during the week before final exams.
• Courses that are offered online must give online exams; courses offered in person should offer in-person exams, making allowances for quarantined or ill students to take exams via Zoom with the class if feasible; courses using a hybrid modality may use an in-person or online exam.
• We strongly recommended that exams be proctored; un-proctored exams have led to a rise in academic misconduct cases and student complaints. Visit these pages for suggestions about proctoring: https://teach.uiowa.edu/administering-high-stakes-assessments.