Maintaining the Course Schedule During the Move to Online Instruction

To: Departmental Executive Officers
From: Helena Dettmer, Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs and Curriculum
RE: Maintaining the Course Schedule During the Move to Online Instruction

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As we move to online courses that begin next Monday, please remember that it is important to maintain your class meeting days and times as scheduled on MyUI. 

Additionally, your course lectures, notes, and other materials should be added online for students to view or review later as needed. Students depend on structure but will need, in many cases, this flexibility.

Please also keep in mind that a final exam must still be given on the day and time scheduled by the Registrar to avoid additional exam conflicts for students. Exceptions cannot be made to this policy. In emergency situations, please contact me immediately.

I am sure that we are all aware that students may find it tempting to commit academic misconduct during this time since, for example, a final exam will not be proctored in most cases. Remind students that their actions matter, particularly during a crisis, and that they should be mindful that any type of cheating hurts their own learning, their peers, and the University of Iowa. Some instructors find it useful for students to sign a statement before the exam pledging that they will not cheat. Please continue to report students, as needed, using this form: online reporting form.

The other CLAS final exam policies also remain in effect, and no exams of any kind may be scheduled during the week before final exams without permission from the College. This permission is rarely given; please contact me if an emergency occurs.

If other activities are substituted for a final exam to evaluate students’ learning, such as a final paper, this assignment certainly may be due on the date and time of the scheduled final exam to give students additional time to complete the work, as current policy permits. It might be helpful to assign these activities as soon as possible or to have rough drafts or parts of the final project due at intervals during the following weeks since we know that students under stress often procrastinate.

Finally, thank you for all your work on behalf of our students. We know that these last-minute changes require a rethinking of content and pedagogy; many of you are also mastering new technological tools and caring for family members, including older adults and very young children.

We want to thank you for caring so deeply about our students and for all you are doing to keep students on track and engaged in their learning.