Contingency Planning and Preparedness

Campus Messages

Academic Calendar, Remote Course Delivery, Pass/Fail Grading Option

Posted on: Friday, March 20, 2020 at 9:40 AM

Message to Faculty from the College Registrar:

Thank you all for your patience as we navigate uncharted waters.  The following will summarize some recent changes we have enacted and address some questions regarding academic dates and deadlines.

1. We have updated information on the Academic Calendar 
 
March 16 - March 27
Spring Break - No classes
May 6
Last day for student elected Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory* option Policy and Students elect S/U here
May 6
Last day for Course Withdrawal* Faculty see update to the academic integrity policies affecting course withdrawal and Students elect course withdrawal here
*Part of term courses use the last day of session
  1. Asynchronous and synchronous online courses:

    Asynchronous classes: Courses that meet asynchronously are still expected to honor the religious holidays as listed in the Academic Calendar when assigning deadlines and scheduling online chats.

    Synchronous classes: Courses that meet synchronously should plan to meet the same day and time as indicated in the schedule of classes. April 15 remains a switch day.  Synchronous lectures and presentation of course materials are to be recorded so those who are not able to participate synchronously can access the session at a later time. 
  2. Pass (P) grade option: We will provide students a “P” grade election period (May 21-Oct. 16, 2020) for spring 2020 courses.  Students can choose to apply P grades to letter graded courses as long as a D grade or higher was earned.  The course(s) can be used to meet degree or major requirements in the same manner as the letter graded course.  This option is only available for spring 2020 and will not be available for D-, F, S* or U* grades. Students are encouraged to discuss this option with their advisors after courses are graded.  There may be restrictions for accredited programs. The method for requesting the P grade will be developed and communicated before the end of the semester.
  3. Incomplete Grades:  The deadline for submitting final grades for students who receive Incomplete grades for spring semester is pushed back to the last day of the fall 2020 semester, December 17, 2020.
  4. Remote advising for summer & fall 2020:  Plans, suggestions, and tools for remote advising are being developed and will be communicated at a later date.
     
  5. SUNY System guidance for on-line delivery of instruction:

    What does “Substantive Interaction” mean? Is there any guidance on maintaining virtual contact with students?

    Faculty must communicate with students through one of several types of technology – including email—either individually or collectively—on a regular basis. An instructor could use email to provide instructional materials to students enrolled in their class, use chat features to communicate with students, set up conference calls to facilitate group conversations, engage in email exchanges or require students to submit work electronically that the instructor will evaluate (adapted from USDE guidance of March 5, 2020). In those instances where a student lives in an area with limited internet connectivity, campuses may consider teleconferencing via land-line phone and surface mail.

    Is there any flexibility in meeting credit hour requirements? Will there be any relief on minimum hours required?

    50.1(o) of the Commissioner’s Regulations defines a credit (a.k.a. semester hour) as follows: a credit, point, or other unit granted for the satisfactory completion of a course which requires at least 15 hours (of 50 minutes each) of instruction and at least 30 hours of supplementary assignments.

    For courses offered in a remote format, the total learning time remains the same (45 hours per credit hour), but the breakdown between instruction and supplementary assignments can vary. When calculating time, faculty should consider the time it would take for students to engage in the following:  interacting with course presentations/lectures; reading other materials; participation in online discussions; doing research; writing papers or other assignments; and completing all other assignments (e.g. projects).

 

Message originally distributed via: Campus Update