Officials at the University of Connecticut announced in an email to staff members on Tuesday that classes for the upcoming spring semester will continue to be held in a variety of formats, including online, in-person and hybrids.
“At UConn, we plan to continue to deliver courses in a mix of virtual and in-person formats for the spring 2021 semester as long as gating conditions allow us to do so,” an email from Carl Lunz, Provost, and Nathan Fuerts, Vice President, said. “This is the most prudent approach to take at this time, given how many variables could change regarding COVID-19 spread and mitigation efforts in the U.S. over the next several months.”
Fees for the upcoming semester are also still being discussed by officials.
“We are working through how we will address any student fee waivers for the spring,” the email said. “We are working to simplify the process and messaging. We plan to make decisions and communicate details of the waiver before registration.”
The decision on how a class will be taught is up to the professor, according to the email, as it was for the fall semester.
“All instructors need to be prepared with some elements of virtual delivery as scenarios could be fluid,” the email said.
“This is the most prudent approach to take at this time, given how many variables could change regarding COVID-19 spread and mitigation efforts in the U.S. over the next several months.”
Professors must submit their course modality by Sept. 25 and modality changes will be allowed until Oct. 19.
Different course modalities include online, distance learning, hybrid/blended, split, in-person, service learning and by arrangement.
Online classes will be taught entirely online, and will never have official meeting times. Distance learning requires the professor to teach synchronously at the scheduled class time, but on a virtual platform. Hybrid/blended courses require only 25% of meetings to be in-person, and will also have online components. Split classes mean some students will attend in-person some days, and will alternate between that and online. By arrangement classes are meant for students in clinical placements, field placements, internships, independent studies and research hours.
“You should choose the modality that most accurately reflects your plans for course delivery,” the email said. “Students rely on these details to consider the selection of courses that best matches their educational and personal needs.”
[…] of virtual and in-person formats” for learning in the spring, according to the student newspaper, The Daily Campus. Similarly, Pennsylvania State University’s provost wrote in a message to the campus that it […]