FAS COVID-19 messages from the 2020-2021 academic year

A message of thanks to FAS faculty.

This memo reminds faculty of the break days on April 8 and 23. It encourages instructors to revisit the FAS’s Guiding Principles for our Teaching and Learning Community and to treat students, staff, colleagues, and themselves with care and compassion during the final weeks of the semester.

This message outlines important information on the early registration process and enhancements to the Yale Course System (YCS), including the following important dates:

• April 5: Expanded course descriptions for Fall 2021 should be submitted by Monday, April 5.
• April 30: If you are teaching a limited-enrollment course, and you expect the number of interested students to exceed the number of slots available, you should request “instructor permission” status for your course from your DUS or departmental registrar by April 30.
• May 3-June 4: Students will be able to participate in the early registration process between May 3 and June 4.
• Two rounds for admitting students to limited-enrollment courses: There will be two rounds for admitting students to limited-enrollment courses: an April round for departments that run centralized application processes and for individual faculty who wish to manage enrollments independently; and a May round for those who choose to participate in the new centrally-organized Yale Course Search (YCS) process.
• April 21-April 30: The April (departmental) round for limited enrollment courses in departments that run centralized application processes or for individual faculty who wish to manage enrollments by email, survey, or other means will take place between April 21-April 30. Students apply between April 6 and April 21 and are notified by April 30.
• May 24-28, 2021: The May (YCS) round for all other limited enrollment courses will take place from May 24-28, 2021. The YCS round introduces new features that will make course registration easier for faculty, students, and staff. 

While this message is detailed and complex, we encourage faculty to read it in full as it outlines important enrollment processes

This message describes accommodations that instructors may make in light of the compounding difficulties faced by students. It outlines concrete measures available to instructors of undergraduate and graduate students.

This message reminds faculty of the remaining break days this semester - March 24, April 8, and April 23. Faculty should not schedule class meetings, exams, or assignment deadlines on those days, and scheduling exams or assignments on the immediate post-break days is discouraged.

This message reminds faculty of the remaining break days this semester - March 24, April 8, and April 23. Faculty should not schedule class meetings, exams, or assignment deadlines on those days, and scheduling exams or assignments on the immediate post-break days is discouraged.

This message summarizes the early registration deadlines for the Fall 2021 term. Faculty are asked to submit expanded course descriptions for Fall 2021 no later than April 5; the application period for limited enrollment courses will take place from April 6-21; early registration will take place from May 3-28; and a second registration period will take place in August. This schedule leaves the months of June and July free from registration-related responsibilities, allowing faculty to devote that time to research and other activities.

This message reminds faculty of the break day scheduled for March 9, 2021.

Proctor requests for midterm examinations must be submitted by March 1, 2021 using the online request form.

This message includes information and reminders about:

• undergraduate quarantine requirements
• spring semester break days
• travel restrictions
• campus access and research for undergraduates

The undergraduate technology assistant (UTA) program will continue during the spring 2021 semester. This message outlines the process by which UTAs will be allocated and how faculty may request UTAs for their courses. UTA requests are due December 18, 2020.

This message encourages faculty to support students in their learning by (a) providing midterm feedback; (b) streamlining the application process for limited-enrollment courses for the spring semester; and (c) planning courses around spring semester break days. Updated FAQs regarding the Spring 2021 pre-registration process have been published on the FAS Dean’s Office website.

Proctor requests for final examinations must be submitted by November 13, 2020 using the online request form.

This message informs FAS faculty of a Yale College deadline that may affect your senior advisees. Senior undergraduates who are seeking access to campus during January in order to work on senior essay projects will need the signature of their advisor in order to apply for such access; these applications are due on November 9.

This memo provides guidance on preregistration for spring term instruction in Yale College.

This message reminds faculty that requests for equipment for remote teaching for the spring 2021 semester are due on October 30, 2020. To request equipment, ladder and multi-year instructional faculty may complete the ITS order survey. Instructional faculty with single-year appointments may email contingency.planning@yale.edu">contingency.planning@yale.edu.

This message outlines resources that are available to support faculty well-being.

This memo provides guidance on how faculty can begin planning for spring term instruction. It advises faculty to plan for continuing residential/remote instruction, including a deadline of October 30 to request equipment for remote spring teaching; asks faculty to post an Expanded Course Description or syllabus for their spring course(s) no later than November 30; and encourages thoughtful use of the break days in the spring term

This message shares mid-semester student feedback with faculty; topics include assessment scheduling, length of asynchronous lecture recordings, workload expectations, and communication of deadlines.

This message thanks those who shared feedback on a possible program for school-aged children in an FAS building. Yale’s Worklife team is moving to the next step in investigating feasibility.

This message provides links to the the 2021 academic calendar announcement. Yale College and the Graduate School of Arts and Science have sent follow up messages to students.

This message describes childcare options for school-aged children. For children age 5-12, university-sponsored childcare options include programs at the Phyllis Bodel Child Care Center at the Yale School of Medicine and at Bright Horizons at Yale West Campus. An additional program in an FAS building on central campus may be introduced if there is sufficient demand. Please email fas.dean@yale.edu by Friday, October 2 to indicate interest.

Proctor requests for midterm examinations must be submitted by September 23, 2020 using the online request form.

This message outlines recommendations for Fall 2020 final examinations. We strongly suggest that instructors adopt alternatives to standard in-class exams and assessments. If such alternatives are not feasible, online exam proctoring should be conducted remotely by Yale personnel using Zoom. The Poorvu Center will provide recommendations for remote proctoring and a new graduate student remote proctor position will be introduced.

This message shares a document entitled “Guiding Principles for our Teaching and Learning Community” which describes a set of classroom expectations for FAS students and faculty for the fall semester. The document is an expression of common commitment to respect, community, and care. It outlines the steps we can all take, as students and instructors, to make sure that everyone in our classes is respected, included, and able to do their best work.

This message outlines reminders for faculty on topics that include publicizing course requirements, student quarantine, student enrollment in overlapping asynchronous courses, course contingency plans, Student Accessibility Services, faculty availability, section registration and scheduling, and auditing.

This message outlines faculty, teaching fellow, and shared responsibilities. These include expectations related to understanding student quarantine requirements, planning class meetings, preparing materials, overseeing course logistics, supervising TFs, ULAs, and UTAs, and other elements of undergraduate teaching. Some expectations have been revised for remote teaching.

This message encourages faculty to consult with their cognizant dean regarding teaching schedule accomodations.

The university has issued updated guidelines on health, safety, and travel; as students will quarantine for the first two weeks of the term, instructors should not plan any in-person curricular activities before September 14.

This message reminds faculty that expanded course descriptions should be posted to Canvas today, August 7. It provides guidance on managing student admission to limited-enrollment courses and requests that faculty include in their syllabi instructional contingency plans should circumstances require a pivot to fully on-line delivery.

A number of important items have deadlines in late July and early August 2020.  Classroom space requests are due July 31; registration for out of state faculty is also requested by July 31 if possible; UTA requests are due August 3; and extended course descriptions are due on August 7.

In order to ensure compliance with relevant employment and tax laws, faculty who will be carrying out their fall 2020 teaching duties from a location outside of Connecticut (whether domestic or abroad) must register with the university. This message provides instructions on how to provide this information to your Operations Manager, who will file the relevant forms on your behalf.

This message provides estimates of the number of Yale College students expected to enroll in fall 2020. Data is based on a survey completed by undergraduate students.

This message announces a new type of instructional support for Fall 2020: Undergraduate Technology Assistants (UTAs), who will assist faculty with the technological aspects of remote instruction. The message goes on to outline the process by which UTAs will be allocated and how faculty may request UTAs for their courses.

This message provides information on Phase II research reactivation, which begins today, for the Humanities and Social Science divisions. It describes the Pathways to Research Reactivation webpage, which will function as the primary source of guidance on resuming research during Phase II.

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.

This message invites FAS faculty who meet certain conditions to place orders for three sorts of equipment that might be required for remote teaching: (a) audio/visual kits (headphone, microphone, camera); (b) annotation devices; (c) other peripheral enhancements. The deadline for ordering is 5:00 PM on Monday, July 20.

This message provides details on safety protocols and the process for obtaining approval to access campus during Phase 2 of research reactivation for trainees in Science and SEAS departments.

This message outlines research reactivation and campus building access procedures for faculty and graduate students in the Humanities and Social Sciences, includes links to required trainings and health checks, and announces a town hall to take place on Wednesday, July 15.

Video of the July 15 town hall is available here.

This memo confirms a remote/residential teaching model for Fall 2020; outlines associated adjustments to FAS teaching policies; presents a detailed calendar for the fall course registration process; provides links to course planning resources; explains campus access policies and procedures; and includes links to additional university information.

This memo provides guidance on how faculty can begin planning for fall instruction. It advises faculty to plan for residential/remote instruction; outlines the rationale, resources, and policies related to this model; and explains plans for online course registration, including a request that faculty post a detailed description of their fall course(s) no later than August 7.