Preparing for Coronavirus?

[polly_mer]

All faculty here have been directed to submit, through their departments, a plan for the fall semester that includes explanations of how we are going to:

• Maintain 6' separation between all students and the instructor in classrooms with a seating capacity of, for example, 35 students, in courses that already have 35 students registered.
• Teach all courses on campus and online, simultaneously, to accommodate students who become ill or who have pre-existing health conditions.
• Run all courses 100% online if the campus needs to be emptied out after the semester begins.

All full- and part-time faculty members have been given three days to submit this information.

See, I actually prefer this. The preposterous turnaround time indicates that no one expects good work. "Faculty members have been given two months to submit this information" would be far more burdensome, as it would suggest that one is to spend one's whole summer doing this bull&%$# for real.

How happy are faculty going to be with the results of assembling all the sent information?  Probably not very. 

This is a CYA move (Look!  We solicited and used your input!), not a coherent plan by an institute that wants to survive.  This is very much a case of hoping for the best and planning for blame when the feces hit the propeller.

Sometimes, shared governance claims are bad cover for weak administration.

[mamselle]

On the broader scale (which doesn't name scholastic situations per se; it would be interesting to elicit these from the author)*

   https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/18/opinions/coronavirus-recession-economy-public-health-trump-sachs/index.html

In some ways, not so new, in others, it puts a few things together more specifically.

M.


*Transparency: I worked for this person a very long time ago in a galaxy far away.

[Caracal]

I was very pleased to see that our admin has at least said that nobody is going to be forced to teach in person who doesn't want to. Thus far, you can just opt out, no need for explanations or medical notes or any of that.

That sounds like an administration that wants easy faculty volunteer in before officially announcing a term that is mostly online.

Hmm, I don't really think so. They've said pretty clearly that their current plan is to have classes in person, mostly hybrid. They've determined a modified room capacity, as well and are busy tweaking schedules to try to ensure students will have the option of fully online and in person, mostly hybrid formats. Most of the faculty in my department have opted for the hybrid option, it seems.

Of course, who knows if in person classes are really going to be possible, but I don't see any reason to think the administration is not legitimately planning for it.

[apl68]

We have now reopened at work.  I won't go into a lot of detail.  Suffice it to say that it has been hectic.  We've been doing lots of tweaking and readjusting in response to the developing situation.  This was not unexpected.  As they say in military circles, "No plan survives first contact with the enemy."

Waiting on library patrons when every computer workstation must be wiped down after each use, and you have to let patrons tell you what items they want so you can fetch them and keep them out of the stacks, and you have to try to be aware of where everybody is at any given time for social distancing reasons, is labor intensive.  I don't know how many times I've masked/unmasked as I've moved back and forth from my office.  I can only imagine what it would look like if a college campus tried something like this.

[ciao_yall]

Our plan for now is to have all online, unless exceptions are needed for face-to-face.

I'm wondering if one exception can be a low-enrolled class where students can sit far enough apart? If I am teaching in the Fall (another conversation), my classes do not lend themselves to an online format. It can be done, and nobody will die, but it just isn't the same.

[Penna]

Are there faculty here that simply do not feel comfortable doing f2f teaching in the fall?

Yes, and I share the concerns you articulated in the rest of your post.  At my institution, a plan for offering modified, hybrid forms of in-person instruction for most classes is being developed, and faculty have already been advised that "anxiety" about the risks will not be considered an acceptable reason for requesting permission to teach online-only.  They haven't announced the specific requirements for receiving permission yet, except to say that the policy for granting those permissions is currently being developed by "HR and Legal."  So I'm assuming only those faculty who are at least 65 or who can document something like diabetes, heart disease, etc. will be granted permission.

I am in my 50s and am in good health overall, but I am still very concerned about the risks for both myself and my spouse (who does have a health condition that may put him at higher risk for severe outcomes should he get the virus from me).  And even with a policy that will limit in-person instructional time to rotating smaller groups of students (through utilizing hybrid "live-streaming" with some students in class and others watching remotely, and/or approaches which incorporate asynchronous online components mixed with subsets of students attending in person, thus keeping the max number of students per f2f meeting at about 10 to 15), this still sounds ill-advised to me. 

For example, in the draft reopening plan being circulated, there is no mention of a campus-wide mask policy.  I find this very concerning since even if individual faculty members plan to require masks for their own classes, of course the air and surfaces in each classroom will still be affected on a daily basis by the previous class/classes that will have met in that same space.  And the classrooms in many buildings on our campus are small and not well ventilated (windows that don't open).  From what I've been reading about what is known so far about transmission of the virus, keeping 6 feet apart does not eliminate the risks of being in enclosed, poorly ventilated spaces for a prolonged period of time (such as an hour-long class meeting), even if the group size is relatively small.  And of course students will be constantly mingling with other students in different classes, as well as with people off-campus.

Some of our faculty seem (at least outwardly) to be fine with the plans that are developing, but I also know I'm not the only one who is feeling uneasy about what we are apparently being asked to do.  Of course, there are also some faculty who are speculating that all of the "return to campus" planning is really just a marketing attempt and that in practice, we'll all end up being fully online anyway, whether that change is necessitated by the start of the term or soon after.

[Caracal]

Are there faculty here that simply do not feel comfortable doing f2f teaching in the fall?

Yes, and I share the concerns you articulated in the rest of your post.  At my institution, a plan for offering modified, hybrid forms of in-person instruction for most classes is being developed, and faculty have already been advised that "anxiety" about the risks will not be considered an acceptable reason for requesting permission to teach online-only.  They haven't announced the specific requirements for receiving permission yet, except to say that the policy for granting those permissions is currently being developed by "HR and Legal."  So I'm assuming only those faculty who are at least 65 or who can document something like diabetes, heart disease, etc. will be granted permission.

I'm curious about if there's a big divide in policies between different kinds of institutions around this. The pretty clear messaging where I teach is that faculty can choose methods of instruction,  we need to have both enough in person and online classes for students who want both, and that faculty who don't want to teach in person don't have to.

I teach at a big institution with a lot of commuter students. I'm curious if those of you who are reporting less flexible polices for faculty teach at smaller, largely residential colleges? We have a smattering of older students, but also lots of students who live at home so I think they are anticipating large numbers of students who aren't going to want to attend in person classes. There are also presumably lots of students who are fine with taking online classes even if they don't need to for health concerns. The assumption seems to be that faculty and student preferences can be matched easily enough. Just based on what I've seen, I think about 2/3rds of faculty have opted for hybrid.

[Caracal]

For example, in the draft reopening plan being circulated, there is no mention of a campus-wide mask policy.

I hadn't really thought about teaching with a mask. I guess it would work? I'd be a little worried about it making it hard to understand me and the students?

Of course, I'd do it.

[Penna]

I teach at a big institution with a lot of commuter students. I'm curious if those of you who are reporting less flexible polices for faculty teach at smaller, largely residential colleges?

Yes, I am at a relatively small institution that has a significant portion of residential students (though we also have a sizable number of commuter students as well).

And of course the financial pressures are huge--if we don't have enough residential students enroll, there is the danger that the numbers just would not work and we would not survive as an institution (or at least many here believe that is a very real possibility).  I have heard from some contacts that other institutions are planning for having some students live on campus (though in smaller numbers overall) while taking mainly online classes (with exceptions for applied/lab classes).  I don't know if that approach has been given consideration by our admins, but of course it is risky as well when the financial margins have always been fairly tight, even before the pandemic.

Regarding wearing masks:  yes, I imagine it might create some issues, but I've been wearing a mask in public spaces for my essential errands for a few weeks now, and I haven't had trouble being understood or understanding others wearing masks in those cases.  It would be an issue for hearing-impaired students who rely on lip-reading, of course, but I have heard that you can buy masks made for that circumstance (ones with clear windows so that your mouth can be seen).

[spork]

Are there faculty here that simply do not feel comfortable doing f2f teaching in the fall?

[. . .]

I am in my 50s and am in good health overall, but I am still very concerned about the risks for both myself and my spouse (who does have a health condition that may put him at higher risk for severe outcomes should he get the virus from me).  And even with a policy that will limit in-person instructional time to rotating smaller groups of students (through utilizing hybrid "live-streaming" with some students in class and others watching remotely, and/or approaches which incorporate asynchronous online components mixed with subsets of students attending in person, thus keeping the max number of students per f2f meeting at about 10 to 15), this still sounds ill-advised to me. 

For example, in the draft reopening plan being circulated, there is no mention of a campus-wide mask policy.  I find this very concerning since even if individual faculty members plan to require masks for their own classes, of course the air and surfaces in each classroom will still be affected on a daily basis by the previous class/classes that will have met in that same space.  And the classrooms in many buildings on our campus are small and not well ventilated (windows that don't open).  From what I've been reading about what is known so far about transmission of the virus, keeping 6 feet apart does not eliminate the risks of being in enclosed, poorly ventilated spaces for a prolonged period of time (such as an hour-long class meeting), even if the group size is relatively small.  And of course students will be constantly mingling with other students in different classes, as well as with people off-campus.

Some of our faculty seem (at least outwardly) to be fine with the plans that are developing, but I also know I'm not the only one who is feeling uneasy about what we are apparently being asked to do.  Of course, there are also some faculty who are speculating that all of the "return to campus" planning is really just a marketing attempt and that in practice, we'll all end up being fully online anyway, whether that change is necessitated by the start of the term or soon after.

Reverse situation for my wife and I; I'm the one with the chronic health condition. I know of at least one faculty member who has requested that she teach completely online in the fall for medical reasons. The administration at present seems open to this because we don't have classrooms large enough to accommodate social distancing and at minimum all courses will need to be hybrid. I want to reduce my in-classroom time by half so that I usually only have to go to campus once a week.

The situation for the fall semester depends to a large degree on what the governor decides is acceptable, but most likely we will have a mandatory mask policy for academic buildings and there is a good chance that all dorm rooms will be allowed a maximum of two occupants. We don't have the ability to go to singles.

The primary driver here is still revenue. Fall course registration and deposits look good, but the numbers are soft. Getting some students on campus, even if they end up taking courses online from their dorm rooms, is financially better than no students on campus at all.

We should be reconfiguring the semester into a block schedule so that not all students need to be on campus taking five courses for the entire semester, but as usual it doesn't seem like anyone is looking at that. Probably because of the fear that it would cut into dorm and meal plan revenue.

[Parasaurolophus]

I'm not especially concerned for myself (I mean, I obviously want to avoid getting it, but there are no special worries on my end), but my partner has an autoimmune disorder which puts her in a high-risk category, so I'm definitely not risking anything.

[the_geneticist]

I don't feel comfortable doing it because I don't think that any of the proposed "safety measures" will be used properly if at all (cleaning all surfaces, having hand-sanitizer available, etc.).  Are we really expecting that the large teaching spaces can be cleaned EVERY HOUR with only 10 minutes between classes?  We can't even get the soap dispensers and paper towels kept full in the high-use bathrooms.  I highly doubt that campus will pay to have a dedicated cleaning team wiping down the door handles and scrubbing the classrooms.

[apl68]

I don't feel comfortable doing it because I don't think that any of the proposed "safety measures" will be used properly if at all (cleaning all surfaces, having hand-sanitizer available, etc.).  Are we really expecting that the large teaching spaces can be cleaned EVERY HOUR with only 10 minutes between classes?  We can't even get the soap dispensers and paper towels kept full in the high-use bathrooms.  I highly doubt that campus will pay to have a dedicated cleaning team wiping down the door handles and scrubbing the classrooms.

Maybe they supposed that the faculty would take care of wiping down the rooms as part of class prep.

[marshwiggle]

I don't feel comfortable doing it because I don't think that any of the proposed "safety measures" will be used properly if at all (cleaning all surfaces, having hand-sanitizer available, etc.).  Are we really expecting that the large teaching spaces can be cleaned EVERY HOUR with only 10 minutes between classes?  We can't even get the soap dispensers and paper towels kept full in the high-use bathrooms.  I highly doubt that campus will pay to have a dedicated cleaning team wiping down the door handles and scrubbing the classrooms.

+1000

With labs, I can't even imagine trying to disinfect every bench, every chair, every piece of equipment, and so on. Even overnight would be a big challenge; during the 10 minutes between labs is pure fantasy.
I would never make any suggestion of being able to do this effectively, no matter how much custodial support was available.

[Anselm]

I don't feel comfortable doing it because I don't think that any of the proposed "safety measures" will be used properly if at all (cleaning all surfaces, having hand-sanitizer available, etc.).  Are we really expecting that the large teaching spaces can be cleaned EVERY HOUR with only 10 minutes between classes?  We can't even get the soap dispensers and paper towels kept full in the high-use bathrooms.  I highly doubt that campus will pay to have a dedicated cleaning team wiping down the door handles and scrubbing the classrooms.

Yes to all of this and so many more problems.  Will we be able to hand out papers to students in the classroom?  If a student appears sick will we have to tell them to leave the room and  report them immediately?  Will we encourage a snitch culture among the students?   If someone needs to take 3 weeks off to recover do we tell them to drop out or just let them make up all of their work?

I really wish I could be just furloughed for the next year.