In a March 20 memo, senior vice president and provost Jonathan Wickert shared temporary policies on instruction and faculty advancement due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The policies, adopted with input from Faculty Senate, address tenure clock extensions and a pass/not pass option for undergraduate courses.
For faculty on the tenure track, a one-year tenure clock extension will be granted to those who requests one because their work has been impacted by COVID-19.
Undergraduate courses affected by the transition to virtual instruction can opt for pass/not pass grading. The policy applies only to courses during the spring semester that were intended to be in-person. Any course taken using pass/not pass counts toward curricular, major, academic progress and graduation requirements, but will not be factored into a student's grade point average.
Students must choose the pass/not pass option by submitting a form to their academic adviser or the registrar’s office May 13-19. If no form is submitted the letter grade will be assigned. To assist students in making a decision, the deadline to drop a course has been extended to April 3.
The Graduate College still is considering its grading options for spring classes, but the deadline to add second-half semester courses has been extended to March 27. Preliminary or final oral examinations may be done remotely or in-person with appropriate social distancing.
Wickert also allowed faculty to change course syllabi, assignments and assessments for all courses switching to virtual instruction.
An FAQ is available on the temporary policy offering a pass/not pass option.
Researchers
Procurement services can assist researchers who have expenses related to trip cancellations forced by COVID-19. Researchers should consult to the COVID-19 and research website for the most up-to-date information on sponsored funding and changes in agency policy.
Parks Library
Parks Library is one of several buildings closed to the public on campus, but library staff are offering doorside pickup. Materials may be requested either from interlibrary loan or pick from shelf services and obtained weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Extended deadlines
Deadlines for several actions have been extended:
- The post-tenure case review is June 1.
- The deadline to submit decisions on third-year reviews is June 1.
- The deadline to submit position responsibility statement updates in Workday is Aug. 1.
- The deadline for submitting final faculty evaluation ratings for 2019 is postponed indefinitely.
On schedule
- The promotion and tenure process recommendations have been submitted to the state Board of Regents with approval expected at its April 1 meeting.
- Term faculty advancement cases are under review with final decisions by April 15.
- University-level award winners will be notified by May 15.
