Spring 2021 Academic Schedule Details
| by Jeff Cason, Sujata Moorti, and Suzanne Gurland
Dear Faculty Colleagues: We write to give you more detail on the spring semester schedule to help you plan your spring syllabi.
Sujata Moorti
20 Items
Faculty Updates
| by Sujata Moorti
As we gear up for the fall semester I wanted to send you an update with a number of housekeeping details. First though I want to thank you all for all the work you have conducted over the summer on preparing for fall classes. Because of the time you have invested in course preparation, I am confident that the student learning experience this fall will be radically different from the spring.
Fall 2020, Faculty, Staff, Students
Weekly Update: Return to Campus Guide and Website
| by Derek Doucet, Sujata Moorti, and Karen Miller
We are writing to inform you that the Middlebury 2020-21 website, which provides detailed descriptions of our phased return to the Vermont campus, is now live. As we prepare to bring our community together again during this unusual time, we continue to monitor conditions across the nation and locally, and we will adjust the website’s content as needed. It is crucial that each and every member of our community be prepared for a very different fall semester and year ahead. This website will be an essential resource.
Faculty, Fall 2020, Staff, Students
Weekly Update: Return to Campus Guide and Website
| by Derek Doucet, Sujata Moorti, and Karen Miller
We are writing to inform you that the Middlebury 2020-21 website, which provides detailed descriptions of our phased return to the Vermont campus, is now live. As we prepare to bring our community together again during this unusual time, we continue to monitor conditions across the nation and locally, and we will adjust the website’s content as needed. It is crucial that each and every member of our community be prepared for a very different fall semester and year ahead. This website will be an essential resource.
Fall Re-Opening Information
| by Jeff Cason, Sujata Moorti, and Karen Miller
We are writing to provide some updates on our plans for reopening our campus this fall. This continuing work is the result of intensive efforts this summer to evaluate how we may resume on-campus activities to the greatest extent possible, as prudently as possible. As we continue to think about what work needs to be done and who needs to be present on campus, we are guided by our plans around the phased return of our students. As we communicated in our June 22 letter, our phased reopening will begin with a campus quarantine period, where students return, are tested, and then stay in quarantine while awaiting their test results. (Detailed FAQs can be found here.) Campus quarantine will be a crucial component of our success in creating the safest living and working environment possible as well our efforts to maintain a low density and “limited-contact environment.”
Fall Re-Opening Information
| by Jeff Cason, Sujata Moorti, and Karen Miller
We are writing to provide some updates on our plans for reopening our campus this fall. This continuing work is the result of intensive efforts this summer to evaluate how we may resume on-campus activities to the greatest extent possible, as prudently as possible. As we continue to think about what work needs to be done and who needs to be present on campus, we are guided by our plans around the phased return of our students. As we communicated in our June 22 letter, our phased reopening will begin with a campus quarantine period, where students return, are tested, and then stay in quarantine while awaiting their test results. (Detailed FAQs can be found here.) Campus quarantine will be a crucial component of our success in creating the safest living and working environment possible as well our efforts to maintain a low density and “limited-contact environment.”
Some Clarifications for Faculty Colleagues
| by Jeff Cason and Sujata Moorti
We write with a follow-up to the College’s announcement on Monday that we plan to welcome students back to campus in Vermont this coming fall. We know that there is a great deal of uncertainty about how the fall will look, given the public health situation, but we know this initial decision will help move us forward in our planning for the upcoming semester.
Summer Research and Internships
| by Jeff Cason and Sujata Moorti
We wanted to update you on some decisions regarding summer activities on campus, as we know that students are concerned about making their summer plans and that faculty are also in the process of planning for the summer, as we head into this unusual summer for all of us.
Update on Grading Policy
| by Jeff Cason, Sujata Moorti, and Suzanne Gurland
We write to update you on the status of the College’s grading policy for this semester. This morning, the faculty voted in favor of an Opt-In Credit/No-Credit, course-by-course system. For spring 2020 only, you will have the option to take as many of your current courses as you wish on a Credit/No-Credit basis. If you don’t choose Credit/No-Credit for a particular course, that course will remain letter-graded. You have until May 8 to invoke Credit/No-Credit for any of your courses, using an electronic form provided by the Registrar’s Office. You will have a window of time from May 9 to May 19 in which you may revoke any Credit/No-Credit decisions. There will be a notation on the spring 2020 section of all transcripts conveying to outside audiences that a “Credit” should be interpreted as a reasonable response to these extraordinary circumstances, and not as indicating diminished rigor.
Letter to Faculty Regarding Governance
| by Jeff Cason and Sujata Moorti
We write at what we know is a moment of significant uncertainty to update you on a number of issues related to faculty governance, our academic policies, and teaching. We also want to acknowledge that our situation is incredibly fluid, and to let you know how much we appreciate the rapid transition to remote learning that you have executed and are executing. We know that we could not have made this transition without our staff colleagues in DLINQ and ITS, and we thank them for all the work they have done.