In-person instruction for 2022-2023

Friday, June 10, 2022

June 10, 2022

Summary: This message reminds faculty that teaching during the 2022-2023 academic year will, with rare exceptions, take place in person. Faculty, teaching fellows, and students will be expected to engage in their teaching and learning activities on campus, in person, in New Haven. The message outlines expectations for teaching fellows and the processes by which faculty may request workplace accommodations or short-term remote arrangements.

To: FAS and SEAS faculty and instructors in Yale College and the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
cc: FAS Steering, FAS Dean’s Office, Yale College Dean’s Office, GSAS Dean’s Office, President’s Office, Provost’s Office, Office of Institutional Equity and Accessibility, Poorvu Center, University Registrar’s Office, Office of International Students and Scholars, FAS Chair’s Assistants, FAS Lead Administrators, FAS Operations Managers

Dear colleagues:

In recent days, we have heard from a number of you with questions regarding fall semester teaching.  

The shared pursuit of knowledge and exchange of ideas are central to the mission of the university. At Yale, teaching and learning take place primarily through in-person, direct encounters among faculty and students. In keeping with this principle, teaching during the 2022-2023 academic year will, with rare exceptions, take place in person. Faculty, teaching fellows, and students will be expected to engage in their teaching and learning activities on campus, in person, in New Haven.

All enrolled students must return for in-person learning in the fall. While instructors may make short-term individual arrangements for remote instruction for students who are in temporary quarantine or isolation, they may not approve such arrangements for a period of more than one week. Faculty may not, without prior approval, rely on recorded lectures as the primary mode of course delivery. Please contact Pam Schirmeister to request approval. Lecture, lab, and seminar courses will take place in person as previously planned, without the need to de-densify classrooms and labs.

Expectations for Teaching Fellows (TFs)

There will be no remote TFs during the fall 2022 term. All TFs are expected to be in residence when classes begin, teaching in person. While one-on-one tutoring and informal supervised study sessions may take place remotely, all formal group instruction must take place in person. Instructors may not make ad hoc hybrid or remote arrangements with their Teaching Fellows.

Faculty requests for long-term accommodations

Faculty are expected to teach in person. If a faculty member needs a workplace accommodation because they have a medical condition that places them at exceptionally high risk for severe illness with COVID-19, they should contact the Office of Institutional Equity and Accessibility (OIEA). OIEA will work with the FAS or SEAS Dean’s office to put in place reasonable accommodations.

Short-term remote arrangements

If it is not possible for a faculty member to hold class in person for a single class or pair of classes, faculty should make arrangements that allow maximal continuity to the student experience. Depending on the size and nature of the course, you might find a substitute, offer a makeup class, teach remotely, etc. During the first two weeks of the semester, as students are settling on their final schedules, we ask that you hold in-person classes if at all possible.
 

If, during the course of the semester, it becomes impossible for you to teach in person for more than a one-week period, please reach out to the FAS or SEAS Deans for guidance:

  • Faculty in FAS Humanities Departments should submit short-term arrangement proposals to John Mangan, FAS Senior Associate Dean and Dean of Faculty Affairs.
  • Faculty in FAS Docial Science and Science departments should submit short-term arrangement proposals to Bob Burger, FAS Senior Associate Dean.
  • Faculty in SEAS departments should submit short-term arrangement proposals to Sarah Miller, Assistant Dean for Science and Engineering.

If special arrangements are deemed appropriate, details of those teaching arrangements will be coordinated at the departmental level, so as to best meet the needs of the students in those courses.

We appreciate the creativity with which Yale faculty have approached the challenges of the last two and a half years. Some innovations resulting from the pandemic may have lasting value, and we hope that you will consult with your department chair or the course of study committee as you consider new modes of instruction. Nonetheless, the beginning of a new academic year gives us a chance to focus anew on the centrality of in-person learning to a Yale education, and we count on the faculty and teaching fellows to uphold this core value of the university.

Warmly,

Tamar, Pericles, Lynn, and Jeff

Tamar Szabó Gendler
Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences

Pericles Lewis
Dean of Yale College (from July 1, 2022)

Lynn Cooley
Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences

Jeffrey Brock
Dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science