A: You can change the mode of your class by July 24^th.

A: This is at your discretion. We encourage all faculty to provide students with flexibility so that they can take the classes they need to advance in their degree. The following options are available to you:

• You can use the Kaltura Live Lecture Capture feature that is available in most classrooms. See instructions here https://confluence.uconn.edu/ikb/teaching-and-learning/classroom-technology/classroom-quick-start-guide/kaltura-live-lecture-capture
• Use Collaborate Ultra or WebEx synchronously https://confluence.uconn.edu/ikb/teaching-and-learning/classroom-technology/using-collaborate-webex-to-teach-in-a-non-standard-classroom-no-or-limited-av-equipment
• Live Videoconferencing, if your classroom allows it (https://confluence.uconn.edu/ikb/teaching-and-learning/classroom-technology/classroom-video-conferencing/video-conference-room-type-full-teach-from-to)

In addition to the lectures, you should also make provisions in your syllabus in terms of assignments and exams for students participating remotely.

A: Classroom features are available here https://classrooms.uconn.edu/classroom/ and summarized in a table in the next FAQ.

A: A list of classes with assigned classrooms and the COVID capacity of the room is provided below. The capacity is set for the students only. If you have the TA present in the room, this is fine, as long as they do not sit together with the students and you make sure that the 6 feet distance is maintained at all time.

Video: availability of live videoconferencing systems

Recording options

K: Kaltura Record

All: as described below

https://confluence.uconn.edu/ikb/teaching-and-learning/recording-technologies/recording-and-streaming-a-presentationRecording

A: Yes, as long as the social distancing protocols are maintained. You should communicate with your TA/UTA as soon as possible in terms of needs to be in person and their level of comfort.

A: No, you cannot require students to come to campus. Since there is no provision for room assignments for DL or WW classes, it is not possible to have in person exams for such courses.

A: In general, faculty offices do not allow for sufficient social distancing and therefore in person office hours are discouraged. For TAs and UTAs, it is possible (but not required) to set up in person office hours in one of our classrooms (CAST 136, 205, 117, 210). If you plan to do this in your class, it has to be coordinated centrally and you should set up a sign-up system so that only a predetermined number of students can show up at any given time and no lines are formed outside the rooms. There should be provisions for office hours using Collaborate Ultra for all classes regardless of the mode of the class.

A: Yes, you can schedule available time slots in one of the high tech classrooms we control (CAST 136, 205, 117, 306). Scheduling for TAs will be done through the instructors. Online Outlook calendars will be available for all rooms.

A: Below is the university guidance on reading days

“This is intended to relieve some of the pressure that students are facing arising from exigencies and uncertainties of the fall semester. The additional reading days are a temporary change to the calendar for fall 2020 only. They will allow students some time to finish final projects and other kinds of non-examination assignments and to prepare for final examinations. This plan was designed with the idea that faculty members would be able to support students on these additional days through answering questions via various media and/or by holding virtual office hours.

The fall semester now consists of:

• Classes: Monday, August 31 – Saturday, November 21, 2020 & Monday, November 30 – Monday, December 7, 2020
• Labor Day Holiday (no classes): Monday, September 7, 2020
• Thanksgiving Recess: Sunday, November 22 – Sunday, November 29, 2020
• Reading Days (no classes or assessments): Tuesday, December 8 – Sunday, December 13, 2020 and Thursday, December 17, 2020
• Final Assessments: Monday, December 14 – Wednesday, December 16, 2020 and Friday, December 18 – Sunday, December 20, 2020”

Faculty should not hold presentations or schedule deliverables during the reading days. Final class deliverables such as reports can be scheduled during finals week. Any presentations associated with projects should be scheduled by Monday, December 7.

This includes ALL class modalities and refers to undergraduate classes only.

A: The department does not have the ability to purchase more tablets or laptops at this time. You may use your indirects or $1500 from the CoP program to purchase a tablet for yourself. Access to technology will be provided through one of our classrooms mentioned above.

A: Please plan ahead in terms of materials and activities to facilitate someone else taking over your class. If you have a colleague or PhD student who is familiar with your class and could take over in an emergency, having this conversation in advance may be useful. If one of your TAs falls ill, the department will work with you to find a replacement on an hourly basis to the degree possible.

A: Even though we have no such information at this time, it is prudent to prepare to switch to distance learning mode at any time.

A: Below the University Guidance on faculty testing (email communication 7/18/2020)

Our approach to testing for our community is straightforward: if a student or employee is coming to our campuses because they have to be there, they should be tested. This includes faculty, staff and commuter students on every campus, both graduate and undergraduate. There is not a “once-size-fits all” approach to accomplishing this, so the university will utilize different avenues and strategies.

Faculty and Staff Coming to Campus

Faculty and staff who will be on one of our campuses this fall will have PCR testing made available at reentry at no cost to them through our partnership with UConn Health. Availability will be as early as August 4 through August 21 on-site at Storrs, Stamford (one day only) and Avery Point (one day only) for eligible employees at these locations. Eligible employees at UConn’s Waterbury and Hartford campuses will be provided access to UConn Health’s Farmington drive-through location.

Faculty and staff eligible for testing and approved to return to campus and who are returning from out of the state for the start of the fall semester should incorporate the potential for a 14-day quarantine period into their travel plans. Please refer to further guidance already on the HR website for more details and a required domestic travel registry.

More information is forthcoming from HR shortly in messages to UConn Storrs and regional campus communities in the next few days. Additional communications will be made by July 28 to those for whom testing will be made available.

A: Yes. The supervising faculty has to add the student to their lab COVID safety plan and make sure they have taken the necessary training. See next FAQ for details.

A: Yes, effective immediately. The process is outlined below.

The Undergraduate Student should complete and submit the Undergraduate Student Research Request Form. Once submitted, this will be emailed automatically to both Office of Undergraduate Research and OVPR.

The faculty member wanting to add one or more undergraduate students to an approved safety plan should complete and submit the Request to Include Undergraduate Students Form. Once submitted, this form will be emailed automatically to both the Office of Undergraduate Research and OVPR.

Once BOTH forms are received, the OVPR will respond with an Approval to both the student and faculty member.

For questions or concerns contact the OVPR at ovpr@uconn.edu or Office of Undergraduate Research at  our@uconn.edu

A: Yes, if you have an in person class, you can be in your office during the days you teach. In general, faculty are advised to stay home. You can take your desktop home if you wish, make sure that you check it out with Jessica. Alternatively, you can access your computer remotely with Microsoft Windows Remote Desktop https://confluence.uconn.edu/ikb/remote-access/using-remote-desktop

A: The CEE office will likely open once or twice a week to deliver packages and mail. The schedule will be determined sometime in August.

A: If the students are on campus, they will still have access to the computer lab at Castleman 117 outside instructional times. The student can check out a laptop for up to four hours from the library https://lib.uconn.edu/services/technology-services/borrow-technology/

If the students are off campus, the department does not have the ability to provide them with either a computer or an Internet connection. The following information is available on the Uconn website in terms of computer requirements for student success

https://uconn.edu/public-notification/coronavirus/covid-19-academics-and-research/ (see Device Requirements for Student Success)