What is the best way to document the changes I made to my course content and requirements?

It is important that you document changes that you make to your course and provide students with a revised syllabus as soon as possible. You should also send any changes you make to your syllabus to your chair, director, or dean.

How does the Kent State Library support remote teaching?

Check University Libraries’ COVID-19 Support Page for more information.

What are the minimum faculty expectations for teaching remotely?

All courses carrying university credit require instructors/student interaction which is appropriate to the discipline and the course. The minimal expectation of instructors/student interaction should be analogous to the amount of instructors/student interaction that takes place during the course when it is delivered in a synchronous environment (i.e., “face-to-face”). Instructors may implement one or more active instructor/student interactive methods in a remote platform, including but not limited to:

i. synchronous or asynchronous lectures and/or discussion;
ii. student communications via email, open forums or discussion boards;
iii. sessions for synchronous or asynchronous demonstrations;
iv. collaborative team/group work;
v. simulations; and/or
vi. Q&A sessions.

Instructors should select and implement remote platforms which are appropriate to the discipline and the activity for these interactions, including but are not limited to:

i. chat rooms,
ii. email,
iii. open forum and discussion boards,
iv. audio and video conferencing applications,
v. web conferencing, and/or
vi. other synchronous or asynchronous collaboration tools.

What if I am ill and cannot continue to teach remotely?

If you begin to experience flu-like symptoms, you should immediately inform your chair/director/dean. While you may be able to teach through the symptoms, you want to prepare for the possibility that you will become too ill to continue teaching remotely. If you aren’t using BlackBoard to enter your grades, you should send an updated copy of your gradebook and syllabus for each class to your chair/director/dean. If you have class assignments or exams that have not already been shared with your students, post those to BlackBoard or send a copy to your chair/director/dean. If possible, recommend to your chair/director/dean a colleague who would be qualified to take over your course.

What if I am asked by my chair/director/dean or a colleague to take over a course for a colleague who has become too ill to continue teaching remotely?

If an academic unit determines that an instructor is needed to cover a course for another instructor, instructors who may be interested in accepting such an assignment will be informed about the assignment and then decide whether they are willing and able to take over the course. If you decide that you are not willing or able to cover the course, inform your academic unit administrator of your decision immediately.

While it is not uncommon for instructors to agree to cover a course for a short period of time for a colleague who is out of town or ill, being asked to take over a colleague’s course who has become too ill to finish out the semester is a significant departure from this usual practice.

Instructors agreeing to take over another instructor’s course for a substantial period of time (more than 2.5-3 contact hours) should be suitably compensated. (The same is true where taking over a course for a short period would require extensive preparation on the part of the substitute instructor.) Academic units should first consult their Faculty Handbooks for guidance concerning these situations. The workload section and/or other sections of Faculty Handbooks may provide established parameters and processes for how academic units should handle such situations and how to calculate appropriate compensation for substitute instructors. In the absence of guidance in the Faculty Handbook, compensation could include but not be limited to: overload pay, revised responsibilities, or workload credit that can be used at an agreed upon time. In all situations, compensation for additional assigned responsibilities must comply with the terms and conditions of the applicable collective bargaining agreements and other employment contracts.

Do I need to keep the same schedule for my course if I teach a course originally scheduled face-to-face, or can I adjust my schedule?

If you are holding synchronous class sessions via BlackBoard Collaborate Ultra, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or other similar platform, those meetings must be held during the time originally scheduled for your course. Scheduling synchronous class sessions for any other times is likely to conflict with your students’ other classes and personal commitments.

Can I just deliver all of my course content asynchronously?

Faculty may deliver all or part of their course content asynchronously. Asynchronous delivery has many advantages for students, including avoiding technological issues that can happen “in the moment”. In addition, it allows students to review material as often as they need to do so in order to learn what is being covered. It is still highly desirable to establish a connection with students in the course. This may take many forms, such as sending encouraging emails, sharing videos and other ways to show concern for students’ wellbeing and to decrease psychological distance.

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