Guidance for Instructors

Dear Twin Cities faculty and instructors:

As we welcome students back to campus, I am writing with a reminder of resources and policies to support your instruction this fall semester. 

Supportive Learning Environment

Instructors have a responsibility to establish and maintain a civil, productive, inclusive, and supportive learning environment in their classes, free from discourteous, threatening, harassing, or other aggressive behaviors. In what we anticipate may be a semester of heightened political discourse, instructors are uniquely positioned to help create a respectful exchange of views and maintain a productive and inclusive learning environment. 

We know that classroom management can be challenging, especially in today’s polarized political environment. I encourage you to review the faculty and staff resources from the Office for Community Standards. The Office for Equity and Diversity has developed a series of in-person workshops and online resources, Teaching in Times of Crisis, which you also may find helpful. If you encounter a student in urgent distress, the Red Folder can provide resources to help you respond quickly and appropriately.

Deliver Instruction as Scheduled

I remind you that it is the responsibility of instructors to deliver instruction as scheduled and on topics relevant to the stated learning objectives of the course. Instructors are expected to meet their classes as scheduled, and to start and end classes at scheduled times. If you know in advance you will be unable to attend a particular class, please work with your academic unit to make alternative arrangements. We all understand that emergencies happen, but classes should not be canceled or rescheduled for personal reasons without the concurrence of the academic unit. 

Topics covered in class should be tied to the objectives of the course and students’ grades should be assigned based on the quality of their work and the degree to which they have met the course goals and objectives as stated in the syllabus. 

Excused Absences and Makeup Work

Our policy describes a list of circumstances that are considered excused absences and for which instructors must provide the opportunity for makeup work, including illness, religious observances, and more. This policy has recently changed, including an updated list of circumstances that are considered excused absences, so please be sure to review the changes at the link above and make any adjustments to your syllabi as necessary. If you prefer, you can find updated recommended syllabus language for this and other policies on the University Policy Library website. 

Instructors have the discretion to grant excused absences for reasons not on this list, but those decisions must be made in a viewpoint-neutral way. It is particularly important to communicate attendance requirements to students; attendance requirements and penalties for unexcused absences must be clearly stated in the syllabus. While voting is not an excused absence, we do also offer guidelines for instructors to consider prior to Election Day.

Thank you, as always, for your commitment to excellence in instruction and our core mission of delivering for our students and their education. 

Sincerely yours,

Rachel T.A. Croson
Executive Vice President and Provost