Planning for Teaching Community

Dear colleagues,

As we resume classes and welcome students back to campus from spring break, we face a new challenge. The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) that forced the cancellation of spring study abroad programs in several countries has now reached North Carolina. While there is no imminent threat to the University, we need to be prepared for the continued spread of the virus and the potential disruption of classes and other institutional activities.

First, please note that we have students who have been asked to self-quarantine for 14 days due to their travel to certain areas affected by COVID-19 and designated as Level 3 or 4 by the CDC, at this time China, South Korea, Italy, and Iran. I ask that you provide maximum flexibility to these students to allow them to complete course requirements (e.g. projects, quizzes and exams). All these students should have documentation from their travel. Please also provide flexibility to students who are absent due to respiratory virus symptoms (fever, coughing, sneezing, sore throat) whether or not they have a doctor’s note. As a campus community, we must be proactive to minimize the spread of illness.

We should also be aware that many of our international students and scholars from affected countries have the additional stress of concerns about families and friends at home. We have reached out to these students to make them aware of support services but some may need your assistance or encouragement to take advantage of this support.

Second, all instructors should begin planning for the possibility of delivering the remainder of their spring courses virtually. All courses at UNC Charlotte have a Canvas shell and we know that over 70% of our classes use Canvas for at least some functions. For all instructors, but especially those not currently using Canvas, the Center for Teaching and Learning has assembled just-in-time resources for teaching continuity.

Use this worksheet to guide you in planning for virtual instruction. All instructors should familiarize themselves with these teaching continuity options, including WebEx for videoconferencing. The University is exploring the feasibility of providing an online proctoring tool for all courses. The Center for Teaching and Learning is a resource to you for training, teaching guides, self-paced online workshops, and other support.

We will continue to monitor this rapidly changing situation and will keep you informed of any additional impact on instruction or programming. Please refer to Emergency Management for FAQs and the most updated information, and keep washing your hands.

Sincerely,

Joan F. Lorden
Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs