I hope that things are going well in your courses and that you are enjoying engaging with your students. As we begin the sixth week of the semester, I am writing to provide you with some reminders and updates: 

COVID-19 REMINDERS

• CLAS Instructor Quick Guide for COVID-19 questions: We have provided a Quick Guide for COVID-19 questions: link | download pdf
• Self-reporting for students who have tested positive for COVID-19, have been contacted by a public health agency and identified as a close contact of someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, or were told by someone that they were in close contact with an individual who tested positive for COVID-19: Students should submit the COVID-19 self-report form (https://apps.its.uiowa.edu/forms/self-report) to ensure appropriate contact tracing and support from their instructors and others on campus. These students should not be attending in-person classes and this report process serves as their official UI absence documentation.
• Students returning to class after COVID-19: Students should only resume in-person course activities after they meet ALL of the following criteria: (1) At least 10 days have passed since their symptoms first started or since their positive test result AND (2) they do not have a fever for at least 24 hours without the use of medicine AND (3) their other symptoms are absent (i.e., cough, shortness of breath). See also this link: https://studenthealth.uiowa.edu/news/should-i-get-covid-19-testing.
• COVID-19 Absence Reports may now be found on your ICON course site: Go to your ICON site and click on the MAUI in ICON tool in the left-hand navigation pane of the course. On the Menu’s drop-down list, choose Course Absentee List. The report shows the students who will not attend class for any of the reasons noted above. See this page for help: https://teach.uiowa.edu/icon/maui-in-icon.
  • Please check your course ICON site each day for a list of students who may miss class because of COVID-19 related reasons.
  • Before allowing a student to make up missed exams or other work, check your absence notifications to make sure the student has submitted the form.
  • These reports function as medical documentation for an absence, making it excused.

KEEPING UNDERGRADUATES ENGAGED

• Ask Students for Midterm Feedback: Now is a great time to ask students to respond to a short anonymous survey about what is going well in your class and what is causing confusion or difficulties for students. Feedback strategies and example questions can be found here: https://ace.uiowa.edu/formative-assessment-strategies.
• Fall 2020 Course Modality Flexibility: If you have a F2F or Hybrid course that had moved online temporarily, please consider giving clear instructions to students for when and how you plan to return to some F2F instruction between now and Thanksgiving. Many students are looking forward to opportunities to meet in person with their instructors and classmates when absence rates in their courses have returned to lower levels.

CHANGES TO THE ACADEMIC CALENDAR

• New Drop Deadline for Undergraduates in Fall 2020
  • The undergraduate course drop deadline (without Dean’s approval and with a W) has been moved from early November to Friday, December 18 at 11:59 p.m. (the last day of final exams week).
  • Students will submit a form to request the drop using the normal online procedure; approval by advisors is required. Remind students to submit the form as soon as they know they would like to drop a course.
  • P/N grades will not be a choice as they were in Spring 2020. The late drop deadline is instead being used to help students during the fall semester.
• Changes in the Academic Calendar for Winter 2020 and Spring 2021
  • Winter Session 2020: Monday, December 28, 2020 to Friday, January 22, 2021
  • Spring Semester 2021: Begins Monday, January 25, 2021 (one week later than usual) and classes close on Friday, May 7, 2021. Final exams end on Friday, May 14, 2021 and there will be no Spring Break during Spring 2021.

If questions arise related to undergraduate students or course instruction, feel free to contact my office at clasps@uiowa.edu. If you are concerned about the well-being of a particular student, the Dean of Students office can also be contacted at dos-assistance@uiowa.edu.

Thank you again for all that you are doing for our students!