[Summary: This message announces an expansion of the course timetable/matrix to allow for increased flexibility in Fall 2020 and describes possible uses of reduced-capacity classroom spaces.]
To: FAS faculty
Cc: FAS Steering, FAS Dean’s Office, University Registrar, Warner House staff
Dear FAS faculty,
We write to you with updates regarding the new fall course matrix and with information about reserving classrooms.
Course matrix
We will be maintaining our standard course matrix but also offering an expanded range of evening meeting times, both to increase flexibility for faculty, students and teaching fellows, and so that we may provide more opportunity for in-person enhancements in our courses. The new timetable is here. Please note the new option of reserving a five-day-per-week 150-minute time-slot (e.g. 9:25-10:15am, M-F) which may be used flexibly across the week—for example, five 30-minute segments, two 50-minute and two 25-minute segments, etc. If one of these options is elected, the meetings should begin at the standard start time for the time slot. We want to accommodate student, faculty and teaching fellow needs, but it is crucial that all teaching occur within the course matrix provided.
Because classroom space is limited (see below), courses taught during the most popular times may face difficulty scheduling an associated physical classroom. If you wish to have a physical classroom associated with your teaching, you may need to make use of times earlier or later in the day.
Classroom space
We will have a limited amount of classroom space available, contingent on public health guidelines. Most classrooms can accommodate between one-tenth and one-fourth of their ordinary capacity.
Classroom space may be used in a variety of ways. Some faculty may choose to teach from a classroom to students learning remotely. Others may choose to schedule a room as a kind of “home base” from which some subset of students may learn while the course is delivered remotely. In a small number of cases, courses will meet fully in-person. As the FAS Planning Committees indicated in their reports, we will prioritize courses with learning objectives that cannot be met without in-person components such as certain lab and studio courses. Priority will also be given to large lecture courses that can distribute in-person attendance to subsets of students throughout the term.
The processes for requesting and reserving rooms through the University Registrar’s Office will be made available by the end of the month.
We remain grateful for all of the work you have been doing to make the fall term a success.
Tamar, Marvin, and Lynn
Tamar Szabó Gendler
Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences
Marvin Chun
Dean of Yale College
Lynn Cooley
Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences