A July 28 Update from the Provost's Office on Fall 2020
July 28, 2020 · 2020
The following message was sent to students by the Provost’s Office on July 28 regarding Fall 2020 restart plans. To see all of the restart information, visit the restart website.
Dear Students,
We know that you are eager to make your course plans for fall. In these unprecedented times and constantly shifting circumstances, we are working hard to give you the information you need to make decisions as quickly as possible, as we too are excited to begin another year at Saint Rose.
As you begin to look at your course schedules, consider delivery modes, and speak with your advisors, we wanted to share some additional information with you. We also want to invite you to attend some upcoming meetings via Zoom to answer as many of the restart plan questions as we can.
Upcoming meetings:
A session for students and their families at 7 p.m. today, July 28, will field questions about all areas of the restart plan. The link for that session is: https://strose.zoom.us/j/96643425734.
Because we know that some of your questions are specific to academics, we are scheduling a session just for that subject on Monday, August 10 at 7 p.m. via Zoom. We will follow up with a link to the session in the coming weeks.
What we’re doing:
By and large, course schedules have been updated with delivery methods. Courses will be listed with one of two delivery methods:
1. Online: These courses do not have an on-campus component. Delivery will be either:
2. Hybrid/online: These courses all have an on-campus component, with the rest of the course delivered remotely.
With the hybrid/online courses, we are still working on exactly how those courses will operate. We’re being creative by the use of tents and our biggest campus spaces for some of those majors, such as music and art, which we prefer to deliver on-campus as much as possible. We are using the available guidance on how to engage in performing arts activities safely and are also consulting among other professionals so we can create safe environments for our students.
That means we don’t have a lot of detail for students in those majors yet about how hybrid/online courses will operate, but we will update courses in the coming weeks. What you can count on is that courses with those designations will have on-campus components.
Again, if you want to change what you have on your schedules based on delivery method, we urge you to have a conversation with your advisor. They can help you figure out solutions and stay on track.
Why and how we’re doing it:
We recognize that there are students who want a completely on-campus educational experience. Because of limits on room capacities given the New York State regulations, it is not possible to deliver a fully on-campus experience given the number of students and courses we must schedule in spaces with limited capacity.
There is no blanket solution to how these courses will be delivered because our courses are thoughtfully designed by the faculty with their students in mind. We are considering student-learning needs and working on a course-by-course basis to design the best hybrid/online experience possible given space and safety constraints. The only way to ensure uniformity would have been to say that all courses are moving online. When we surveyed students earlier this year that was not what the majority of you said you wanted, and so that’s why we have been working hard over the summer to create a learning experience that balances your education with the health and wellness of you and the community.
Your faculty for each hybrid/online course will reach out to you before the start of the semester with details for their course. You should reserve the day and time listed for your hybrid/online courses, as there will be some on-campus instruction during that window.
What else?
For information on environmental safety, and steps that are being taken to create a safer learning environment, we urge you to look at the restart plans on the restart website.
We appreciate your patience as we navigate these times. We value you as our student, and we are doing everything we can to create a strong academic experience while also considering public health. If you have questions in the meantime, we urge you to reach out to your advisor or attend one of the upcoming sessions.
Sincerely,
Dr. Steven Ralston
Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs
Dr. Margaret McLane
Associate Provost for Graduate and Professional Studies
