We hope that instructors are taking advantage of the respite that the summer offers to rest and refresh themselves. Although the journey to a post-pandemic society has been longer and more complicated than we had hoped, we look forward to the second year of our return to in-person teaching and the rewarding residential educational experience that characterizes a University of California education. Departments, instructors, and students should plan for normal policies and requirements regarding residence and in-person teaching in the 2022-23 academic year. Unless public health requirements conditions change, emergency measures that temporarily allowed remote teaching and other teaching adjustments willnotbe in effect. Appended below, you will find a summary of the Senate and administrative policies that govern in-person, online, and remote instruction.
The policy and philosophy behind our expectations for instruction are aligned with the June 23, 2021, University of CaliforniaGuidance Regarding Return to Onsite Work for Academic Appointees, in which the UC Office of the President wrote: “Administration and Senate Leadership are united that the default mode of instruction and research be in-person. This means that as an in-person institution, the University will conduct its regular business, including teaching and research, with faculty, staff, and students physically present….” This statement emphasizes that “the connectivity and common experiences afforded by campus presence are essential for building, strengthening, and maintaining a robust and inclusive university culture that supports our innovative work as a student-centered, research-focused, service-oriented university.” It continues: “in order to fulfill obligations to students, colleagues, and to the University as a whole, academic appointees must maintain a significant presence on campus, meet classes, keep office hours, hold examinations as scheduled, be accessible to students and staff, be available to interact with University colleagues, and share service responsibilities throughout every quarter or semester of active service.”
The UCOP Guidance also reiterates UC policy (APM 700 – 760), echoed in UCSB policy (Red Binder VI-1), which states long-standing requirements regarding short-term absences from campus: during the academic year, most absences of more than seven calendar days require approval by the dean. Non-teaching quarters have normal service and residential expectations and may not be treated as if they were sabbatical leaves. Our campus recognizes that occasionally faculty have professional obligations or research opportunities that require brief absences during the academic quarter, and we trust that they will act conscientiously to make alternative arrangements if they must miss a scheduled class. For example, faculty have arranged for a guest lecture, provided an opportunity for a Teaching Assistant to give a lecture, or scheduled a make-up class or an exam, to cover for an occasional absence.
In this context, current instructional technology might allow an occasional pre-recorded lecture or a class delivered over Zoom to substitute for an in-person lecture. However, it is not acceptable to teach online or remotely for an extended period of time during the academic quarter. Senate policy sets an upper limit for online instruction in hybrid courses of 50%, calculated on a weekly basis, from the point of view of the student. These expectations apply to all instructors—Academic Senate faculty, Unit 18 Lecturers, Teaching Assistants and Associates, and Visiting Professors – and, individually, to all course components, such as discussion sections.
The Chancellor’s COVID-19 Working Group and Response Team continues to assess COVID-19 policies and public health data, and to review, revise, and update campus mitigation protocols, as needed, consistent with CDC, State, County, and UC guidance. As we prepare to enter an endemic phase of COVID, we will need to exercise continued flexibility if students and instructors must be absent for brief periods of time due to illness, isolation, or quarantine. Everyone should expect continued enforcement of the UC requirement that faculty, staff, and students be fully vaccinated, which may include additional booster shots, unless they have an approved exemption. Requirements for annual flu shots also will continue.
Thank you for your ongoing dedication and commitment to our students.
Online and Remote Teaching Policies
Approved Hybrid (Partly Online) Courses. Academic Senate policy currently allows instructors to offer on-line instruction if less than 50% of the class is online, with the following restrictions.
Dual-mode (Simultaneous In-person/Online) Instruction. Now that emergency conditions no longer apply, instructors are not allowed to provide dual-mode instruction for the entire class by teaching an in-person course with a fully remote alternative available for all students (for example, by live-streaming or classroom recording).
Brief absences due to illness. As the pandemic shifts to an endemic stage but variants continue to be present, there may brief, temporary periods in which both students and instructors must miss class for a medical reason, including a positive COVID-19 test or required isolation or quarantine.
Workplace Accommodations. Instructors with documented medical conditions that limit their participation in classroom instruction may be eligible for a temporary remote teaching accommodation at the conclusion of a formal Human Resources Workplace Accommodation process, in consultation with the chair and dean, to determine what would constitute a reasonable accommodation.
