DBBS COVID-19 Course Instruction Policies 7-2020.pdf
I.
ACADEMIC CALENDAR
The Arts & Sciences spring 2021 academic calendar has been revised in response to feedback from students. Please note the inclusion of "welness days" and "study days". There will not be traditional spring break due to concerns about an increased risk of transmission of COVID-19 because of travel-related activities.
The Provost and The Graduate School have indicated that all DBBS courses must follow this calendar:
Spring 2021 Semester:
- Classes Start: (T) January 25, 2021
- Wellness Days - No Classes, Assignments, or Assessments:
- (T) March 2
- (W) March 3
- (W) April 12
- Last Day of Classes: (T) May 4, 2021
- Final Exams: (F-Th) May 7-13, 2021
Additional Study Days: Following A&S guidance, DBBS spring course directors are strongly encouraged to designate 1-2 additional "study days" in which your class will not meet.
This
calendar applies to all DBBS courses
and journal clubs that students register for through WebSTAC. Fall 2020 DBBS courses may not start earlier than
September 14, 2020 or end later than December 18, 2020. Spring DBBS courses may
not start earlier than January 25, 2021 or end later than May 6, 2021.
II.
COURSE DELIVERY MODE
- Medical
Campus: Medical campus activities that
do not involve direct patient care or clinical education, including DBBS
courses and journal clubs, should be conducted remotely while significant
COVID-19 community transmission persists. In-person class meetings on the
Medical Campus must be approved by the DBBS Associate Dean for Graduate
Education and should have educational objectives that necessitate in
person education. (See section III for more information.)
- Danforth
Campus: DBBS courses that meet on the
Danforth campus will follow policies and guidelines established for that
campus.
- All DBBS courses must make high-quality, interactive
remote instruction available for students and instructors in quarantine,
high-risk groups, or who otherwise cannot come to campus.
The WU Center for Teaching and
Learning (CTL) and DBBS will host a variety of training opportunities on
remote teaching and educational technologies. CTL staff are available to consult with instructors on
remote course design.
Regardless of the
delivery mode, all DBBS courses should follow these Arts & Sciences instructional policies:
1)
Canvas – All DBBS courses
should: (i) be published in Canvas with a syllabus; (ii) ensure all digital
course content is accessible in Canvas (may be hosted elsewhere, but linked in
Canvas); and (iii) ensure course-wide communication is available through
Canvas.
2)
Student Interaction – All DBBS courses should
create opportunities for both synchronous and asynchronous interaction between
students and instructor(s) as well as among students themselves.
3)
Access to Instructor for
Academic Support – All DBBS instructors should hold weekly office hours
or an equivalent help session that is open to all students. Office hours may be
held online.
4)
Course Policies and
Procedures
– All DBBS instructors should consider building flexibility into course
policies and procedures to manage potential disruptions due to COVID-19. Any
flexibility should be explicitly communicated to students so that they
understand how potential disruptions will be handled. Such flexibility might
include an option for completing the course asynchronously, the opportunity to
make-up assignments after missed deadlines, or the potential to drop the lowest
grade on a set of assignments.
5)
Accommodations – All DBBS instructors
should ensure that students receive their approved accommodations in accordance
with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and Title III of the
Americans with Disabilities Act (1990).
6)
Syllabi – All DBBS instructors
should upload their syllabi into Syllabi Central and submit a syllabus by
email to dbbscurriculum@wustl.edu by the first day of the
semester.
A syllabus is more than a course calendar; it provides a
comprehensive overview of the course, including: (i) course information and
logistics, (ii) instructors and contact information, (iii) course description,
learning objectives, and prerequisite knowledge, (iv) required materials,
texts, and supplies, (v) grading and assessment metrics, (vi) assignments and
exams, (vii) course policies, (viii) university policies, and (ix) resources
for students.
DBBS instructors are encouraged to use the WU Center for
Teaching and Learning syllabus template.
III. USE
OF MEDICAL CAMPUS CLASSROOM SPACE
Medical campus classroom space should only be used when
in-person instruction is educationally necessary and has been approved by the
DBBS Associate Dean for Graduate Education. An on-campus class meeting is
educationally necessary when the learning objectives cannot be achieved in a
remote delivery mode (whether synchronous or asynchronous). Instructors must
demonstrate that the educational benefit to students will outweigh the risk of
viral transmission incurred by congregating in a classroom while community
transmission of COVID-19 persists.
DBBS Course Directors wanting to hold on-campus class sessions
must email Associate Dean Robyn Klein (rklein@wustl.edu) by July 20, 2020 to explain the
educational necessity.
After receiving approval for on-campus class sessions, a DBBS
course may meet on the Medical campus only when the following conditions are
met:
1)
Operations
Level – Medical campus research operations
level must be Yellow or Green.
2)
Physical
Distancing – Efforts must be
made to create spacing of chairs, tables, computers, etc such that occupants
remain at least 6 feet apart in all directions from other individuals.
3)
Health
Screening – All students and instructors must follow current Medical
campus health screening guidelines prior to entering campus.
4)
Personal
Protective Equipment (PPE) – All occupants in a room should wear a cloth
mask or surgical/isolation mask whenever multiple people are present.
Food – Communal food should not be served during DBBS
education activities on the Medical Campus.