Spring 2022 course modalities

Dear Twin Cities faculty and instructors,

The first half of the fall semester is behind us, and I want to thank you for your excellent work in delivering our fall 2021 curriculum. This fall 77.6% of our classes on the Twin Cities campus were offered in person (as compared with over 90% pre-pandemic), and we continue to hear from our students how appreciative they are to be back in the classroom after a year of mostly distanced education.

As with fall 2021, we are relying on you and your academic leadership to identify the appropriate modality for your class in spring 2022. If you are interested in transitioning your spring course to a new modality, please reach out to your Chair/Head/Director or equivalent leader as soon as possible to propose a change, which will follow the normal course approval process. The primary criteria for approving changes remain pedagogical innovation, responsiveness to student demand, and individual accommodations based on health status. Each College/School has also been instructed to develop an appeal process for requests that are denied to be resubmitted and reconsidered.

We understand the continuing concerns that some instructors are feeling about individual health risks, and the University seeks to support you. Instructors with a DRC accommodation in place for fall and whose health issues have not changed are encouraged to discuss their situation with their Chair/Head/Director in planning for spring. Instructors who are requesting new accommodation for spring 2022 should provide medical documentation to the DRC via UReturn. Instructors who are caregivers of an immunocompromised individual should reach out to their supervisor.

If you have any additional questions about course scheduling that cannot be addressed locally, please feel free to contact [email protected]. If you have other COVID-related questions, please feel free to contact [email protected].

Thank you again for your continued commitment to delivering our educational mission.

Sincerely yours,

Rachel T.A. Croson
Executive Vice President and Provost

email sent October 27, 2021 to all Twin Cities faculty and all instructors scheduled to teach on the Twin Cities campus in fall 2021 and spring 2022