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Here are some of the first steps to take when faced with a disruption to delivering your course.

Get the information and context you need.

  • Campus closures or emergencies will be reported through NCC PR and www.nashcc.edu homepage.

  • Check with departmental leaders for more details about the situation and guidelines about their expectations for classes. Administrators may want to have many of the department’s classes handled in similar ways.

  • Information on IT system availability will be available through NCCSupport@nashcc.edu

Communicate with your students right away

  • Even if you don’t have a plan in place yet, communicate with your students as soon as possible, informing them that changes are coming and what your expectations are for checking email and using Google or Open LMS (Nash's learning management system), so you can get them more details soon.

  • Inform your students that the eLearning Services (eSupport@nashcc.edu) is available if they need support using technologies in your or other courses.

  • Stay calm. Students will follow your lead. If your communications convey calm and assurance that everything will be ok with the course, that will help students remain positive and engaged.

Adjust your course plans

Build in some flexibility, just in case the situation takes longer to resolve than you think. We’ve created a series of questions and a template that may be helpful for developing your plans to share with departmental leaders and colleagues. Initial questions to consider include:

What are my goals during this time?

  • What learning outcomes can I realistically accomplish during this time period?

  • Can I maintain the original syllabus and schedule?

  • Do I hope students will keep up with the reading with some assignments to add structure and accountability, or do I just want to keep them engaged with the course content somehow?

What are the new priorities and schedule?

  • Will I continue providing lectures?

  • Should I structure new opportunities for discussion or group work?

  • Will I collect assignments?

  • What activities are better rescheduled?

  • What can or must be done online?

Which of my policies and expectations must temporarily change?

  • Will my students be able to meet expectations for participation, communication, and deadlines?

  • What if they are dealing with illness, lacking power or internet connections, or needing to care for family members?

  • How will I handle requests for extensions or accommodations equitably?

What new tools or approaches are needed?

  • What tools and workflows are already familiar to me and my students?

  • Are there colleagues in my department, university, or discipline with resources or creative approaches I could use?

  • Is it absolutely necessary to roll out a new tool or approach? When mental and emotional energies are already taxed, little energy and attention will remain for learning new things.

  • What can I reasonably master and introduce? Keep it simple. Don’t expect to implement a fully online course that would normally take 18 months of planning. Use only the bells and whistles you need to be effective.


Communicate to students again with more details.

As you know more about how your course plans will be adjusted, reach back out to students with those details. They will have many questions, so consider how you want to manage that.

If students have questions or need support implementing technologies used in your course, instruct them to contact the eLearning Services at eSupport@nashcc.edu

Show care, compassion, and kindness to students. Underserved and marginalized students may experience disproportionate stressors including lack of resources or the need for accessible formats. Your care and support for all students may make all the difference in their motivation, persistence, and ultimate success in your course.

  • What key changes about the class can I share at this time?

  • How can they contact me (email, online office hours, etc.)

  • How soon can they expect a reply from me?

Stay prepared when there’s no disruption.

  • Consider relevant statements you may want to include in your syllabi and review with students each semester, such as:

    • Reserving your right to modify a syllabus when necessary and guaranteeing communication to the class in writing about any such changes when they occur.

    • Inclement weather, emergency preparedness or campus closure information.

    • Your expectations and procedures should classes be cancelled.

  • Consider introducing remote learning tools and practices early each semester.

  • Engage regularly with departmental, university, and disciplinary colleagues about teaching innovations that may be applied remotely.