Beginning of Semester Reminders - Fall 2021
Dear Faculty Colleagues,
Welcome to the 2021-2022 academic year! Thank you for working so tirelessly through the challenges of the pandemic. Your dedication to our students and each other demonstrates why Kent State University is an amazing place to live, work, and learn. Never before has “Flashes Take Care of Flashes” meant so much!
I also extend a warm welcome to our more than 40 new faculty members! You are joining the Kent State community—a community that demonstrates respect, kindness, and purpose—as we strive to achieve a genuine sense of place and well-being for our students, faculty, and staff.
I apologize for the length of this message, but I ask that you read it all carefully and visit the sites linked within this message. This Beginning of the Semester message is designed to keep you informed of academic policies and procedures, as well as to remind you of ways to enhance our students' success. Additionally, it provides information about our semester in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. You will continue to find the details on the Academic Affairs Response to COVID-19 and the KSU Coronavirus Updates websites.
COVID Related Updates
A joint committee of faculty and administration leaders created a revised FAQs document that will answer many of the questions you have regarding COVID-related practices in the classroom. The FAQs were designed to help facilitate a smooth transition to fall semester 2021, so please be sure to review as you prepare for the fall semester. This FAQ document has important information related to keeping your classroom and students safe, what to do if a student in your class tests positive, and guidance around students testing positive for COVID or not wearing face coverings. The information provided surrounding these items is very important, but I think it is also important that you know Kent State had zero incidents reported of students not wearing face coverings during the entire 2020-21 academic year and zero incidents of COVID traced back to an in-person class.
One of the items in the FAQ document describes how to use seating charts and attendance monitoring to help with contact tracing. This is a new practice we are asking you to use so we can provide information to our local health departments if needed. Please read that information carefully and consider using a seating chart and checking attendance for each class meeting. This will really help our local health departments quickly and accurately respond to any health concerns that might arise.
Kent State’s Safety Principles (Flashes Safe Eight) are an important part of our overall prevention and response strategy. Kent State’s COVID Response Team is committed to following the science and directives offered by the CDC and our local health departments. We require all instructors, students, employees, and community members to wear face coverings inside any Kent State building. Instructors may, however, choose to remove their face covering while teaching in-person provided they can maintain a safe distance of at least six (6) feet from students. Please be sure to review the FAQs about student face coverings in face-to-face classes.
Our ability to continuously deliver in-person instruction and activities requires a heightened level of accountability for all members of the University community. If at any point in fall semester 2021 you are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms we ask you to not deliver your course in-person. To be ready for this possibility, I encourage you to prepare alternative assignments for your students or to deliver your course in a synchronously remote format. Please make sure you notify your unit administrator (e.g., department chair, school director, college dean in colleges without departments or schools, campus dean) and communicate the alternative arrangement(s) for the course period(s), including how students can access the course remotely (e.g., Teams, Blackboard Collaborate Ultra, Canvas). Additionally, please review the FAQs related to student absences. Thank you for continuing to be flexible working with students who cannot attend class due to COVID symptoms and/or having to quarantine or isolate.
So many of you have decided to return to in-person instruction. Thank you for helping us meet the needs of our students who have expressed a preference for in-person instruction! In principle, students registered for a face-to-face course with the expectation that it would be offered in person. Deans, Department Chairs, and School Directors are making reasonable efforts to keep face-to-face courses in that modality. This principle does not, however, negate our commitment to instructors regarding their choices to teach either remotely or in-person during fall semester 2021. If you are currently assigned a face-to-face class and feel uncomfortable teaching in that modality, you must work with your unit administrator to minimize disruption to our students’ learning experience. To be clear, you may not independently move an in-person class to remote delivery without working that process through with your unit administrator. I recognize the challenge, but I believe together we can determine how that change will best occur.
Finally, please remember that no one should ask students or other members of the university community about their vaccination status or independently collect health information or provide others medical advice. The COVID Response Team continues to provide leadership and advice to bolster our response to the pandemic and if you have questions, please address them to the Team.
For Your Syllabus
As you prepare your syllabi and get ready for your classes to begin, please ensure that your course materials are accessible and usable for all students. The Office of Student Accessibility Services (SAS) provides support and recommendations for creating accessible course materials on the SAS website and in person. SAS strongly recommends that all instructors place the approved accommodation statement (found here) on each syllabus. Equal Access, a cross-divisional collaborative pursuing greater accessibility provides both personal and online support for creating accessible course materials. Please email EqualAccess@kent.edu with any questions. You can also download the Equal Access Tips for Faculty here.
Given the unique challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic and its potential impact on instruction, the Ad Hoc Academic Continuity Committee (ACC) recommends that all instructors include language in their syllabi that clarifies student and instructor expectations concerning the impact of COVID-19 on the instructional process. In particular, the ACC recommends that you address expectations for communication and staying informed; health and safety; absence and illness, intellectual property, and privacy; and remote instruction. Examples of language suggested by the ACC are provided here.
I also remind you of the Keep on Teaching website, a complete resource for all of your instructional needs, whether you are teaching in person, online, remotely or in a hybrid fashion. The Office of Continuing and Distance Education, the Department of Information Technology and the Center for Teaching and Learning have compiled information for you in one place, at https://www.kent.edu/keeponteaching.
Please check the Final Exam Schedule and include accurate information about the date and time of final exams in your syllabus. Having the dates and times included in the syllabus helps students plan their final exams schedule.
Late Course Adds
The deadline for students to self-add into courses is the end (11:59 pm) of the seventh calendar day of the semester (prorated deadline for summer or flexibly scheduled courses). For Fall 2021 15-week courses, this deadline is Wednesday, September 1st. After the self-add period, the deadline for students to request admission into classes by submitting a late registration request with instructor approval is by the end (11:59 pm) of the fourteenth calendar day of the semester (prorated deadline for summer or flexibly scheduled sections). For Fall 2021 15-week courses, this deadline is Wednesday, September 8th. Please respond immediately to students' requests so they can finalize their schedules.
Academic Presence Verification (APV) Roster
Faculty are required to indicate whether students have been "academically present" at least once in order for financial aid to be disbursed. Students who have not been verified to be "academically present" are not eligible for financial aid so this is a process critical to our students. "Academically present" means that the student has either attended the class or has participated in some form of academic activity at least once.
Remember, students will be eligible to receive aid for only those classes in which their academic presence has been verified so this is a very, very important process. Full instructions on how this works and answers to FAQs are located on the Registrar's website.
Midterm Reports
Midterm reports are required for all students in every 15-week 00-, 10-, and 20-thousand level courses. The midterm grade roster opens Week 4 (Sept. 16) and closes Week 7 (Oct. 13) of the standard term. We know that the earlier you provide feedback to students, the quicker they can adjust their study behavior and attendance so that they are successful in your classes. As always, the Registrar's office will send notification of the midterm report rosters being open, and our hope is that you will provide students information on their progress as early as possible so our students can be as successful as possible.
Student Support
Whenever students are struggling academically and need assistance that you are not able to provide, please direct them to the Academic Success Center. The Academic Success Center continues to offer scheduled tutoring, drop-in tutoring, e-tutoring and supplemental instruction sessions online and in-person this semester. Please let your students know they can access support at asc@kent.edu or call 330-672-3190. Feel free to mention this resource on your syllabus.
We know that students may also struggle in nonacademic ways. There are many resources on campus and in the local community to assist and support students who may be in emotional distress or exhibiting disruptive behavior. The Step Up and Speak Out website and mobile app (integrated with KSU Mobile) provide helpful information on do's and don'ts of dealing with distressed and disruptive individuals and lists resources that are available 24 hours a day. If you are concerned about a student who you believe may pose a potential threat to self, others or the university, please consult with the Care Team. The Care Team is a cross-divisional crisis management committee that collaboratively assesses and coordinates responses in these situations. Referrals to the Care Team may be made by contacting Dr. Amy Quillin ( aquillin@kent.edu; 330-672-9494), Student Ombuds. Of course, if a student appears to be an imminent threat to self, others or the university, please call 911.
During these difficult times, students and their families may also be struggling with access to adequate food and housing. Any students having trouble affording groceries, accessing sufficient amounts of food, or those who do not have safe and reliable places to sleep, should contact the Office of the Dean of Students (330-672-8003) or visit the Kent Cares website. There might also be a food pantry in the student's local community to help. To find food pantries and shelters, students can search http://www.feedingamerica.org and https://www.shelterlistings.org/. Feel free to note these resources on your syllabus.
FERPA
FERPA is a federal law designed, among other things, to protect the privacy of educational records. In light of the provisions of FERPA, please preserve and maintain the privacy of your students and their records. Do not ask students to submit assignments in open mailboxes or in unattended, publicly accessible places (e.g., boxes in hallways, envelopes taped to a door), and do not provide graded assignments for student pickup in public venues. Similarly, do not post grades publicly and do not link students' names and/or ID numbers in conjunction with grades.
FlashFolio Training
FlashFolio is the portal for uploading faculty documentation for reviews such as tenure and promotion. FlashFolio training sessions for faculty members have been scheduled on Tuesday, August 24, 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. and Thursday, August 26, 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. Faculty may sign up for the training sessions through the FlashFolio website. As always, if faculty are in need of assistance, please contact FlashFolio Support.
Canvas LMS
This fall, over 1,000 instructors plan to use Canvas in over 3,400 course sections! The deadline to opt-in for Canvas this fall is August 25 (11:59pm EST). Learn how to opt-in. Here are some resources for you:
• Canvas-Ready Checklist. Helpful guide to getting started in Canvas.
• kent.edu/canvas. Visit our website for Canvas updates, training, help and support.
• training.kent.edu.Virtual (live) Canvas training sessions and workshops.
• MS Teams. Setup synchronous meetings, record lectures, and hold virtual office hours.
Student Belonging
Finally, during this pandemic, many of our students have described feeling disconnected. What our institutional data tell us is that a primary reason that students consider leaving Kent State is that they lack a sense of belonging. The Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL), led by Dr. Jennifer Marcinkiewicz, will be providing instructors with regular communications and strategies to enhance student belonging throughout the academic year. Additionally, CTL will be collecting examples of individuals and departments taking steps toward ensuring that all Kent State students feel that they belong. Be on the lookout for the CTL newsletter to submit your best strategies for instilling belonging in our Kent State students. We will celebrate and highlight the instructors and departments who are champions of belonging. My hope is that you will continue to engage with your colleagues in meaningful reflection and action on this important topic.
This semester will present new challenges, but together we are poised to respond to them. I am confident because of the work you have done to get ready, your commitment to your programs and students, and your generosity in supporting one another. Thank you!
My Best,
Melody Tankersley, Ph.D.
Senior Vice President and Provost
cc: Kent and Regional Deans, Chairs and Directors