Teaching policies in the FAS: Follow-up to Provost’s Faculty Policies for the Fall Semester Memo of August 25 (August 25, 2021)

Summary: This message offers a follow-up on the provost’s message from earlier today. It reminds FAS faculty about the university-wide town hall tomorrow (Thursday, August 26) at 4:00pm, and includes information about the following topics: 

  • Accommodation requests for FAS instructors who are at exceptionally high-risk of COVID-19
  • Accommodation requests for FAS instructors with family members at exceptionally high-risk of COVID-19
  • Short-term remote teaching requests for FAS instructors
  • Teaching students who are sick, in isolation, or in quarantine
  • Where to direct your questions] 

To: FAS Faculty 

Cc: FAS Steering; President’s Office; Provost’s Office; FAS Dean’s Office; Yale College Dean’s Office; Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Dean’s Office; FAS Department Chair’s Assistants, Operations Managers, and Lead Administrators

Dear Colleagues, 
 

I write to follow-up on the message that you received earlier today from the Provost’s Office. Below, you will find updated information on the following topics:

Background

On August 5, I wrote to confirm that teaching during the fall 2021 semester would be taking place in person, on campus, as planned. As the semester approaches its opening days, it has been a joy to run into colleagues, to see our students returning to their residential colleges, and to welcome back our staff.  

As we return to an in-person on-campus experience, some of you have written with concerns. I encourage you to attend the university-wide town hall tomorrow (Thursday, August 26) at 4:00 PM, where you will be able to hear directly from the medical team that oversees campus-wide policies. At the town hall, they will explain the university’s plans for safely delivering in-person instruction during the fall semester and will respond to questions and concerns from our community. 

As you know from the provost’s memo, nearly 96% of students, 91% of faculty, and 90% of staff have been fully vaccinated and have recorded their vaccination status; in Yale College, approximately 97% of undergraduates have been vaccinated so far. All Yale College students have been tested upon arrival, and will be tested weekly for at least the month of September. All unvaccinated students, faculty and staff will be tested twice per week for as long as indicated by public health conditions.  Any student (or any other member of the community) who is COVID-positive will be immediately isolated, and those who have been in close contact with them will be tested regularly. All students will be masked in classroom settings. These requirements and additional campus public health measures have been implemented to keep our campus as safe as possible. 

That said, the university recognizes that there are extenuating circumstances, and has put in place a system for accommodations for those faculty members who are unable to leave their homes for medical or caregiving reasons. Here is how those policies will be implemented in the FAS. 
 

Accommodation requests for instructors who are at exceptionally high-risk of COVID-19

As you know from the August 5 FAS memo, if an FAS faculty member believes that they need 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). If OIEA concludes that the medical condition qualifies as a disability, OIEA will consult with the FAS Dean’s Office to put in place reasonable accommodations. 
 

Accommodation requests for instructors with family members at exceptionally high-risk of COVID-19

As you learned from provost’s memo today, instructors cohabitating with severely immunocompromised family members who have been advised against travel outside the home by the family member’s medical providers may request work condition modifications. In the FAS, please direct any such requests to the following Dean’s designates, who will explain to the faculty member how to provide documentation from the family member’s medical advisor to the Yale Health Medical Review Committee, chaired by Dr. Jenna McCarthy: 

  • Faculty in Humanities and Social Science departments should contact John Mangan, Senior Associate Dean and Dean of Faculty Affairs, at john.mangan@yale.edu
  • Faculty in Science and SEAS departments should contact Bob Burger, Senior Associate Dean, at robert.burger@yale.edu

 

Short-term remote teaching requests 

If it is not possible for a faculty member to hold class in person for a single class or pair of classes – due, for example, to religious observance, personal illness, or isolation or quarantine of the faculty member or of a dependent – 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 Dean’s office to discuss appropriate next steps: 

  • Faculty in Humanities and Social Science departments should submit short-term arrangement requests to John Mangan, Senior Associate Dean and Dean of Faculty Affairs, at john.mangan@yale.edu
  • Faculty in Science and SEAS departments should submit short-term arrangement requests to Bob Burger, Senior Associate Dean, at robert.burger@yale.edu

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. 

 

Teaching students who are sick, in isolation, or in quarantine

The FAS encourages instructors to be as understanding and accommodating as possible to students who are unable to attend class in person due to quarantine and isolation requirements or illness. As an instructor, you have license to adapt your courses and assignments in such circumstances. If students are unable to attend class, you might allow them to complete alternative assignments, encourage them to connect with other students in the class, or capture your lectures for them either through recording or lower-tech means. As outlined in the memo sent on August 6, The Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning is able to provide resources and guidance on these matters.  

 

Where to direct your questions

I remind you again of the opportunity to submit questions to university-wide town hall tomorrow (Thursday, August 26) at 4:00PM, featuring the following expert colleagues: 

  • Nancy Brown, MD, Jean and David W. Wallace Dean of the Yale School of Medicine and C.N.H. Long Professor of Internal Medicine 
  • Albert Ko, MD, Department Chair and Raj and Indra Nooyi Professor of Public Health and Professor of Epidemiology (Microbial Diseases) and of Medicine (Infectious Diseases) 
  • Linda Niccolai, PhD, Professor of Epidemiology (Microbial Diseases); Director, HPV Working Group at Yale; Director, CT Emerging Infections Program at Yale, Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases 
  • Saad Omer, MBBS, MPH, PhD, FIDSA, Director, Yale Institute for Global Health; Professor of Medicine (Infectious Diseases), Yale School of Medicine; Susan Dwight Bliss Professor of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, Yale School of Public Health 
  • Stephanie Spangler, MD, University COVID-19 Coordinator and Vice Provost for Health Affairs and Academic Integrity 

In addition, I will be holding a virtual, drop-in open house on Friday, August 27, 2021 from 3:00 – 4:00 PM for FAS faculty who would like an opportunity to ask questions, offer ideas, or share your concerns with me directly. If you have questions, I invite you to drop-in on Zoom:
 
FAS Faculty drop-in open house 

 

Concluding remarks

I am glad to be part of a university where the scientific expertise of our colleagues shapes our COVID-19 response, and where our common goal remains providing the best possible instructional experience for our students. 

As we have learned over the past 18 months, public health conditions can shift unexpectedly. If circumstances change radically, our plans for the fall semester may change accordingly. I am grateful to each of you for your dedication in the face of this uncertainty, and for all that you do to sustain the FAS’s teaching and learning community. 
  
With gratitude, 

Tamar
 

Tamar Szabó Gendler
Dean, Faculty of Arts and Sciences
Vincent J. Scully Professor of Philosophy
Professor of Psychology and Cognitive Science