Update on Spring 2022 for FAS, Yale College, and GSAS

To: FAS Faculty and Instructors in Yale College and the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences

Cc: FAS Dean’s Office, FAS Steering, Yale College Dean’s Office, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Dean’s Office, Registrar’s Office, Poorvu Center, President’s Office, Provost’s Office, FAS Operations Managers, FAS Lead Administrators, FAS Chair’s Assistants, University Cabinet

[Summary: This message outlines follow-up measures implemented in response to the shift to remote final exams announced on December 18. As you know from President Peter Salovey and Provost Scott Strobel’s message titled “Update on plans for the spring semester,” within the FAS, the week of January 18 through January 21 will be used exclusively for undergraduate ABX exams. All ABX exams will be administered remotely; proctoring support will be available. Faculty who require TFs to administer remote exams are asked to complete this survey by January 10. The Spring 2022 term will begin on Tuesday, January 25. Classes will be held remotely from January 25 – February 4. To make up for the delayed start to the term, spring recess will begin at 5:00 PM on Friday, March 18 and classes will resume on Monday, March 28 at 8:20 AM. Further details on exam schedules and grading can be found below.]

Dear Colleagues:

Deep thanks to each of you who had to change your final examination plans in response to the announcement sent on December 18. We recognize how disruptive this was for many of you, and we are grateful for your flexibility, your consideration for our students, and your understanding as we navigate a rapidly changing public health situation.

We are writing to follow-up on the message that you received from President Peter Salovey and Provost Scott Strobel earlier this evening and to outline the measures we will take to allow Yale College students to take make-up final exams in the new year. None of these changes to our plans is ideal, but after consulting with numerous faculty members – including FAS department chairs, the FAS faculty senate executive committee, directors of undergraduate studies, heads of college, and others –  these changes emerged as the best options available to us. We are grateful to all those who took time during this final week of term to consult with us on how best to approach our make-up exams and teaching in January. We know that the changes outlined here may be challenging, and we are grateful to all instructors for the extra effort that may be entailed in adapting your courses.  Thank you.

The plans outlined below address class and make-up exams schedules and procedures for the start of term. We know that many of you have questions about how we will approach other aspects of campus life in the new year: Will visitors be allowed on campus? Can meetings, job talks, and events take place in person? What will life in the residential colleges look like? We do not yet have answers to many of these kinds of questions, as they will depend on what the public health situation looks like in January. When we know, we will let you know: you can expect to hear from us with further information in the new year.

Below, you will find details on term dates, spring break, and remote learning that are applicable to instructors of both graduate and undergraduate students; and details on ABX exam schedules, remote exam format and proctoring, and grading that are applicable to instructors of undergraduate students.

A message outlining these updates will also be sent to Yale College students: you will be able to access that announcement on the Yale College website.

For Graduate and Undergraduate Instructors:

Delayed start of term and one-week spring break

The Spring 2022 term will begin one week late, on Tuesday, January 25, 2022. As we outline below, this delayed start date will enable us to devote the week of January 18-21, 2022 to make-up exams. To minimize the necessity for changes to existing syllabi the new schedule is consistent with the old schedule in two respects: classes will begin on a Tuesday, and on the first Friday of term (now January 28) Friday classes will not meet; instead, January 28 will be a Monday class day.

To accommodate this delayed start date, spring break will be reduced to one week, and will take place from March 19-27, 2022.

Remote learning during the first two weeks of term

In order to enable students to self-isolate, if needed, upon their return to New Haven in January, please plan to offer your classes remotely from January 25 through February 4. During this time, campus research facilities and libraries will remain open with appropriate safety precautions for in-person work, and, as Peter and Scott wrote, the indoor mask requirement will remain in place. Faculty should plan to return to New Haven no later than the first day of classes to allow for a quick pivot to in-person instruction as soon as  public health conditions allow. As Peter and Scott explained, we expect to return to in-person instruction beginning February 7.

As instructors, you have the best sense of how to adapt your classes to a remote format that is most in keeping with the goals of your course, and we leave the particularities to your discretion. If you need assistance, the Poorvu Center has resources available to support remote teaching. In addition, the Academic Planning Resources developed by the FAS faculty and staff contingency planning committees and task forces in Summer 2020 provide guidance and best practices for remote teaching.

For Undergraduate Instructors:

ABX exam schedule

Students who were given an ABX for exams originally scheduled to occur between December 19 and 22, will take their final exams remotely during the week of January 17. 

ABX exams will be rescheduled at their original starting times (9:00 AM, 2:00 PM, and 7:00 PM) as follows: 
 

Exams originally scheduled to take place on Sunday, December 19 will take place on Tuesday, January 18  

Exams originally scheduled to take place on Monday, December 20 will take place at on Wednesday, January 19

Exams originally scheduled to take place on Tuesday, December 21 will take place on Thursday, January 20

Exams originally scheduled to take place on Wednesday, December 22 will take place on Friday, January 21

 
Remote format and proctoring for ABX exams

Exams must be offered remotely to ensure equity for all students in a given class and to preclude additional disruption. Fall Teaching Fellows will be asked to proctor and grade ABX exams and will receive an additional week of compensation for this work. The Poorvu Center will also provide additional remote proctoring support where needed.

If you require TFs to administer remote exams, please fill out this two-question survey by January 10 to ensure that you are provided with adequate instructional support for proctoring and grading.

Grading

Fall term grades for completed work will be due on January 3, as scheduled.  

ABX grades will be due on February 7.

Conversion to a  mark of Credit (Cr) is only available for courses with final exams scheduled on December 19, 20, 21, or 22 and in which the instructor proposed a passing letter grade for the student, with the final exam waived as a course requirement.  For such courses:

January 14, 5:00 PM is the deadline  for a student to request that this proposed passing grade be converted to a Cr.  

 Courses with a Cr resulting from this process can count toward  Yale College’s distributional requirements.

Courses with a Cr resulting from this process can count toward the major for every department and program. 

Thank you for accommodating our students during this uncertain time. We are grateful for all of your efforts.

Best wishes,

Tamar, Marvin, and Lynn

Tamar Szabó Gendler
Dean, Faculty of Arts and Sciences
Marvin Chun
Dean of Yale College

Lynn Cooley
Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences