Guidance for Providing Academic Flexibility: Supporting Student Success During Covid-19

The university recognizes that the on-going COVID-19 (coronavirus) public health concern continues to create a great deal of uncertainty for our campus community. Our goals, however, remain the same — to take care of our community members in need and to ensure minimal disruption to our educational mission through adaptation and contingency planning. As we finalize plans for our spring 2021 semester, we remind the entire academic community that it has broad discretion and latitude to support students’ academic achievement and progress in the face of COVID-19 concerns.

Please note that this guidance on academic flexibility is a direct response to the increasing number of verified cases in our communities and provided for CSUs to address circumstances necessitating academic flexibility and exceptions due to the pandemic and the university’s necessary response to modify the course schedule for spring 2021. This guidance is based on the best practices we learned in the Spring during these extraordinary conditions. We ask the academic community to work collectively and creatively to address the challenges the pandemic may present to ensure that our students can continue on-track toward timely graduation.

Petitions and Degree Modifications

CSU Authority and Discretion

CSUs are empowered with broad discretion1 to support students’ academic progress by making accommodations and exceptions through existing degree modification and petition procedures. This would include but not be limited to allowing for more liberal than typical petitions for course substitutions, waivers (including Flag requirements – please see Core and Flag Petitions below), and other degree modifications for courses, that are not available online or if students are unable to take a required course based on unresolvable course schedule conflict including capstone courses, thesis courses, required internships, study abroad experiences etc. This guidance should be considered when necessary especially for graduating seniors. Exceptions to this guidance include courses required for licensing standards, THECB guidelines, etc.

Core and Flag Petitions

In most cases, students will find online courses that will satisfy Core and Flag requirements. Core courses tend to be larger courses, which must be taught online in the Spring. For Flag courses, there are numerous options for satisfying Flag requirements, and many of these will be offered online in Spring 2021.

In cases where students do have trouble finding an online option for a Core or Flag course, students have the option to submit petitions for substitution or waivers.

¹ Excerpt from the GIC: “By registering, a student enters a college or school of the University and…(t)he dean has jurisdiction over the student’s program of study and degree requirements.” https://catalog.utexas.edu/general-information/registration-tuition-and-fees/

• CORE Courses – Students may submit petitions for either Core course substitutions or waivers to the School of Undergraduate Studies (UGS).
• Flag Courses –
  • Substitutions – It is recommended that students first submit substitution petitions to UGS, to determine if there is a reasonable substitution possibility.
  • Waivers – The CSU Deans have discretion to waive a Flag requirement if necessary, and students may submit petitions for waivers through their college advising office.

Spring 2021 graduating students are strongly encouraged to submit petitions for Core and Flag substitutions by the first day of classes, or as soon as possible, so UGS can work with students to find solutions for Core and Flag requirements. There may be online alternatives that will allow students to meet these requirements, and students should be advised to consult with UGS about these options. Graduating seniors who submit petitions for Core substitutions after the 12th day of classes risk not completing requirements and not graduating. For information about Core petitions, students may visit the Core petitions page or contact the Core program manager (core.audit@austin.utexas.edu). For information about Flag petitions, students may visit the Flag petitions page or contact the Flags advisor (flags.advising@austin.utexas.edu).

Student Petition Appeals

Should a petition be denied, students may be directed to the Graduation Help Desk for case review and resolution. If necessary and appropriate, the Senior Vice Provost of Enrollment Management and Student Success will consult with the CSU to seek a resolution.

Hybrid Courses

Hybrid classes will have an in-person component plus instruction that is delivered online. The mix of the two modes can vary with pedagogical needs and changing public health conditions.

Hybrid class definition: “Hybrid Class (Hybrid/Blended Course) – A hybrid class utilizes both online and in-person experiences. A hybrid class is one designed for the instructor and students to meet in person part of the time and online other times.”

Important for Accommodating Remote-Only Students
Important note for accommodating remote-only students: Hybrid classes that colleges and schools wish to offer with an all-remote option, may do so by adding an online section to the class. The class will be double-listed in the course schedule; once as “hybrid” and once as “online” and students will choose the mode that is best for them. The two sections will be taught simultaneously by the same instructor. Instructors and departments should notify the registrar whether this online-only mode is permitted.

Note for accommodating students, who need remote only accommodations AFTER the semester begins: Students do not need to change their class registration after the semester begins. If students become ill or face other challenges due to Covid-19 and are not able to attend in-person class sessions, we ask that faculty work with the student to provide the student with adequate accommodations, whenever possible, to allow the student to complete the class remotely.

Early Posting of Syllabi

Instructors can now access their spring 2021 Canvas pages, and students have been associated with these pages based on current registrations. To help ensure that students understand the delivery mode and expectations of their classes, we request that faculty post their syllabi as early as possible, but no later than January 12th, one week prior to the final spring registration period. To do this, an instructor would add their syllabus to their Canvas class site, and then “publish” both the syllabus and the Canvas page.

Another option is to “publish” the Canvas site and then email the syllabus to currently-registered students through the Canvas Inbox or send it as an attachment to a Canvas Announcement, after which the site can be “unpublished” again for development. This approach has one advantage – when building the class, especially when adding items with due dates or importing previously published class materials, a published site will ping students repeatedly about components becoming available in Canvas. But it also has one disadvantage – only students registered when the email or announcement is sent will receive it, and it will be necessary to re-send periodically to ensure that the syllabus is seen by other students who add the class later.

All Spring 2021 syllabi should provide students taking a hybrid course with information about the mix of delivery modes in the course and expectations for in-person attendance. It should also provide notification that the mix of online and in-person delivery may be adjusted during the semester in response to changing circumstances.

Workload Expectations

Faculty members are asked to be mindful about the expectations we place on students who are also navigating this pandemic and are struggling. We should challenge them academically, but we also need to be aware that the adversities they face vary greatly and have very real implications in their lives. Students are encouraged to speak to their professor and TA’s as we continue to “right- size” our expectations during this unprecedented time.

Note that the General Information Catalog (GIC)2 specifies an expectation of three hours of work per week for each semester credit hour awarded. This is interpreted flexibly, but in general it indicates that the combined in-person, online, and additional work time in a week for a three-credit class should be about nine hours.

Final Examinations

The official final exam period designated in the Spring 2021 Academic Calendar is unchanged . If an instructor chooses to give a final exam during this period, they must follow the official final exam schedule to make sure that students do not encounter conflicting exams. This could include an exam with flexible timing in which the official exam period is part of the allowed examination period.

NOTE: Because of the challenges students face in preparing for and completing final exams at home (technology limitations, family distractions and lack of privacy, economic issues, etc.) we STRONGLY RECOMMEND that instructors select an end-of-course assessment that does not include an examination during the final exam period, unless that exam offers a great deal of flexibility in its completion.

Moreover, a recent proposal from the students on the Liberal Arts Council also advised avoiding any kind of high-stakes (heavily-weighted) end-of-course assessments because of the home- based challenges described above, noting that some students will be particularly, and unfairly, disadvantaged during this time. “The goal in any alternative should be to prevent a student’s lack of resources from being the deciding factor in a student’s grade.”

Ideas for assessment alternatives and best practices can be found on the Online Teaching Task Force site in Canvas <enrollment link>. Some options for faculty to consider include:

• Distribute shorter assessments throughout the term, instead of more heavily-weighted final exams or papers.
• Provide an asynchronous exam that could be completed over a period of several days.
• Assign an individual project or short paper in lieu of a final exam or lengthy term paper.

Other Academic Flexibility

Under these extraordinary circumstances, we require faculty to work with students to make reasonable accommodations for students who are sick or in self-isolation or unable to attend due to COVID-19.Examples of accommodations include, but are not limited to:

1. Relaxing medical documentation requirements. As requested in 2020, faculty members should provide academic accommodations to students who request them without requiring “doctor’s note” documentation for COVID-19 concerns. This is a judgment that faculty members are empowered to make even under normal circumstances.
2. Creating online options for students to participate remotely. This can be done through ZOOM or other platforms provisioned by your college or school.
   Learn more about alternative methods to continue instruction.
3. Providing online office hours via Canvas, email or phone. You can also allow for course discussions and class contributions via Canvas.
4. Assigning a note-taker to share information with students who are not able to attend in person. This person can post notes on Canvas or through other online channels.
5. Extending deadlines for assignments, if possible.