Fall course proposals for Understanding and Responding to Pandemics

Dear Colleagues,

Thank you for collectively shaping a vibrant “Pandemic-Related Curriculum” for summer 2020. Course offerings showcase diverse disciplinary expertise across the University of Minnesota system.

We are now soliciting courses for Fall 2020. Again, courses don’t need to be about COVID-19 specifically. We have heard about course ideas rooted in science, policy, history, psychology, economics, and more. All these, and more, are welcome. IT and Instructional Design resources will be available to help you move from idea to implementation, regardless of the mode of delivery in the fall. You might also consider attending the “Creative Course Design in the Era of the COVID-19 Pandemic” summit, to be offered by the Rochester campus from June 3-5.

If you are interested in teaching a pandemic-related course this Fall semester, please reach out to your Chair/Head or Dean to suggest it for inclusion. With their support, you may work with your department to schedule your existing course or, for new courses, to create a topics course in ECAS (Electronic Course Authorization System). Then, submit this Google Form to include:

  • Course title
  • Course number
  • Number of credits
  • Term(s)
  • Course Description
  • Indicate prerequisites, if any

University Relations will assist in promoting these courses to U of M students via social media and through umn.edu. Collegiate and departmental outreach to majors can also be extremely useful, particularly if the course can be used to meet an elective requirement in the major.

Submissions will need to be received by June 1 in order to be successfully implemented for Fall. First-year and transfer students will be registering in the summer, and continuing students often adjust their schedules through the summer.

Thank you for considering this opportunity. Please feel free to contact [email protected] if you have additional questions or need further information.

Sincerely yours,

Rachel Croson
Executive Vice President and Provost

Robert B. McMaster
Vice Provost and Dean of Undergraduate Education

email sent to all Twin Cities faculty on April 23, 2020