Dear Faculty,

We know that you are dedicating much time and effort to move your pedagogy online and that you have concerns about student resources and preparedness. We share those concerns and are working to try to develop options and responses, so please stay tuned.

Here is what we want to draw to your attention to at this time:

Online through the end of the semester: all classes will remain fully online through the end of spring semester. We have no plans to change the timeline for the semester at this time.

Campus Access: UHD has announced that there will be limited access to campus starting this weekend. Faculty and staff needing to come to campus during this time must present a photo ID at the UHD Police Department in order to enter any building. Faculty who have direct access to the Commerce, Shea, or S&T Building should still check in at the police station in the OMB before entering those buildings. Anyone with questions about building access can contact UHDPD (713-221-8065). Faculty and staff are discouraged from coming to campus during this time, but those who need to access their office or labs in order to retrieve teaching materials or take down experiments in labs may certainly do so, provided they register their presence with campus police.

Student resources and needs: we have been asked to limit access to campus for all students. This means that students will not have access to computer labs or other on-campus resources during this period of restricted access. However, we are distributing a “needs” survey to students today. We have some computers to provide, and we are working to determine a prioritization method. Once a prioritized list is created, we will reach out to these students and try to put needed resources in their hands. You can encourage students to take the survey (link available on the Student Resources page ) Please keep in mind that equipment resources are limited, and cannot be guaranteed to every student who fills out the survey. 

Final exams: Please prepare for all final exams to occur in an online environment, as we cannot confirm any on-campus testing services. Please keep in mind that students will have multiple finals. Therefore, in setting your exam periods, please consider a completion window that overlaps the currently scheduled FTF exam time but also allows a broader timeframe for completion in cases of conflicts or technology issues. Faculty are encouraged to be innovative in designing assignments, assessments and exams that allow students to demonstrate course and program learning outcomes.

POT 2 and semester payment dates, etc.: New Part-of-Term 2 financial aid and drop dates will be posted shortly on the website. For the long semester, the drop date has been moved to April 7.

Connect with students: Please make all efforts to connect with struggling students during this challenging time and remind them of our Student Resource webpage which also links to health and counseling resources. Many students have indicated that they are struggling to adapt to this new situation academically and in their personal lives.

IDEA Surveys: We are reviewing the question of whether/when to distribute IDEA surveys. We will be in touch next week.Please check your e-mail regularly for updates and maintain regular contact with your Department Chair and students throughout the remainder of the semester.

All information from these update messages will also be available on the Provost’s Office website: Keep on Teaching