Fall Updates 8/28/20
Dear Colleagues,
It is hard to believe we will start the Fall 2020 semester on Tuesday. There has been a tremendous amount of thoughtful work that has gone into teaching and learning plans for the semester. We all should feel good about our careful and safe plans to teach this fall. Many universities across the country currently find themselves changing course at the last minute. As of this writing, only approximately eight percent of classes taught will be on campus — and those classes will be socially distanced and carefully monitored. Maintaining a low population on campus at any given time will help us prevent the spread of COVID-19.
We have a few thoughts and suggestions to share as you finalize your work plans for next week.
The past six months have been challenging for many of us. But we must do all we can to make this coming semester the very best that we can for our students. They deserve a Michigan experience that does not compromise on academic standards or quality of instruction. At the same time, it is important to remember to be flexible and accommodating with others in our campus community. Remember, we have all experienced the pandemic differently. Flexibility and empathy must govern our thinking and acting in the term to come.
Various communications have been shared with the campus community over the past few weeks regarding details about the processes that are in place as we start the semester. Many of these messages can be found under the Campus Health and Safety Measures tab on the Go Safe - Go Blue - Go Dearborn! website. Included on this website is information regarding:
- Suggested COVID-19 testing for students, faculty and staff coming to campus (click on fall testing question).
- Reminders about online training and daily health screenings.
- The university's face coverings policy and newly developed procedures for responding to students, faculty and staff who fail to follow the face covering policy.
- Reminder that instructional buildings will have one designated entry point with a screening location, other doors will be locked. Please allow for extra time to move through the screening location, especially during the first week of classes.
- Please visit this webpage for useful resources for faculty and staff on mental health and well being.
As a reminder, the university website and the Return to Campus Guide: Go Safe - Go Blue - Go Dearborn! continue to be the authoritative source of information for navigating the fall term.
Finally, a reminder that we are fully operational and need to serve our students as normally as possible. Please be sure phones are answered as if we were not working remotely. ITS has outlined processes to set up softphones (which are answered from a computer with a headset) so you can address concerns in real time. One person can answer multiple phone lines using a softphone, and different individuals can be assigned to answer softphones at different times. Please do not forward your phone. This strategy will quickly overload our phone system. You can also contact the ITS Help Desk for support regarding phone options. Your voice messages should indicate the university (and your office) is open and operating remotely. We are not, and never have been, ‘closed’! Please review your department’s website contact information to ensure it is accurate and update your website to clearly outline your operating processes to best serve our campus community.
We are ready to go because of you!
Thank you for continuing to make our campus as safe as possible while we all work together to create an exciting, engaging and meaningful Michigan experience for our students!
Go Safe. Go Blue. Go Dearborn!
Domenico Grasso
Chancellor
Sue Alcock
Provost