Gearing Up for the Fall - Message to Faculty
Dear Faculty Colleagues,
We are gearing up for the beginning of an exciting new academic year—a return to more in-person classes, events, and activities than we have been able to have during the past 18 months. As I look out my window, I see students moving into their dorms, getting their textbooks, and getting to know the campus so they are prepared for an amazing educational experience.
We are back and Golden Flashes are ready to learn!
As we begin this new semester, I want to convey three important messages:
One, I want thank you all for your tremendous work throughout this pandemic. Your care of your students and one another is certainly why Kent State is an incredible university.
Two, the University’s COVID Response Team is following the advice of the CDC and health experts. There currently is no plan to return to 100% remote instruction in Fall 2021. We will, however, continue to implement strategies and protocols to respond to COVID-related issues as they arise.
Three, I want to assure you that we are committed to honoring your instructional modality choice this semester. No instructor is required to teach in-person.
We also must honor a commitment to students who registered for your classes. Our commitment was to honor their instructional modality choice to the greatest extent possible. Students who registered for in-person courses, did so with the expectation that they would have an in-person learning experience.
In order to honor both our commitment to you and our commitment to students, you must work with your unit administrator (e.g., department chair, school director, campus dean) if you need to make a change to your instructional modality. To be clear, you may not move your class to remote delivery without discussing it with your unit administrator. You, along with your unit administrator, will find a solution for a change that will cause minimal disruption to the learning environment of the students.
For more information, see the FAQs about this and other issues concerning Fall 2021 semester. I will be sending a longer, more detailed Beginning of the Semester Message in a few days, but I wanted to get this information to you now.
Thank you again for all you do! I am excited to see you at the Blue, Gold, and Grateful Faculty Cookout on Tuesday, August 24th, from 4:00-6:00 at Manchester Field (beside the Library)!
Melody
Melody Tankersley, Ph.D.
Senior Vice President and Provost