While we are working to provide as many opportunities for face-to-face interactions with our students as we can, providing the rich on-campus academic experiences that we value, our plans are contingent on factors outside our control. Even our face-to-face interactions are unlikely to be “back to normal” this year. The development of our courses will need to address any social distancing guidelines that are in place or change during the semester, address the need to provide a high quality experience to any students who are quarantined or sick, and prepare for the possibility that faculty members will be sick or need to be quarantined. We may also need to educate students who are not returning to campus as a result of COVID-19.
The Canisius tradition of close interactions between faculty and students is one of the hallmarks of our education. Local and state officials may provide short notice before shutting campuses. We need to be ready to transition with limited interruption in order to finish the semester on time and keep our students on track with their learning and their connection to the college.
Current social distancing guidelines will prevent most courses from meeting face-to-face as a whole. Current capacity of classrooms is reduced by more than 50% in rooms with moveable furniture and as much as 75% in classrooms with fixed furniture. Faculty will have flexibility in how to use their face-to-face time in ways that are consistent with their subject, their course level, and their learning objectives.
In addition to a comprehensive, carefully crafted syllabus, develop a virtual course orientation that helps students identify course objectives, structure, policies, procedures, and grade structure. Don't forget to introduce yourself, too!
The Canisius Media Center offers several ways to determine what is in your assigned classroom, as well as other rooms you can use for different teaching purposes. Click the button below to visit their What's in my Classroom site, where you'll find both summary and detailed guides to classroom capacities and IT hardware.
Faculty will need to plan early for any resources (articles, books, videos) that will be needed for your courses:
We must ensure that we are meeting fair use standards for any copyrighted material. Some material may take time to procure, some may not be available in digital format, or some may be cost prohibitive. Early planning and early communication with the library will be needed to limit the impact this will have on your students’ experience. Please study the opportunity to use mainstream streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime, PBS, or Hulu for broadcasts.
Faculty are strongly encouraged to participate in the Online Faculty Development Course (OFDC) offered by COLI. Additionally, COLI is offering workshops and trainings, throughout the summer, focused on specific tools.
Information about these opportunities is available on the COLI Wiki at https://wiki.canisius.edu/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=20512833
Early in your course planning, review the Academic Calendar for Fall 2020.
Our current academic calendar proposal is to begin the semester on the scheduled date (August 31) and to eliminate most of the holidays (other than Thanksgiving). This change will allow us to end the semester a week earlier than currently scheduled (only two weeks after Thanksgiving). We anticipate that all class work after Thanksgiving will be entirely online to reduce the possibility of individuals traveling over Thanksgiving and bringing the virus back to our community.
You should have regular office hours scheduled. Meetings will be remote, but should be synchronous. This is an ideal use of technologies such as Zoom and D2L Chat. You can review guidelines, and suggestions for appointment schedulers here.
Faculty members should notify their chair and dean ASAP if they are medically unable to teach face-to-face in the fall. We would like to prioritize face-to-face experiences for freshmen and sophomores who are navigating their early college years and need to know which classes need to be converted to online only.