University of Redlands
July 2, 2020
Dear CAS Students,
Over the last two weeks, faculty and staff have been working diligently with the Registrar’s Office to update College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) Fall 2020 semester (FA20) course information to include the modality that instructors will use for their classes. Beginning tomorrow (July 3), you will have the opportunity to modify your FA20 course schedule to best fit your health and learning needs.
As you consider choices about FA20, I want to share important information, in the form of questions and answers (Q&A), relevant to the decisions you will soon make.
Q: What can you expect from FA20 courses?
A: A University of Redlands education.
Regardless of the type of course (i.e., online, hybrid, or in-person) offered, you will have a personalized, engaging experience. In other words, you will have a University of Redlands education imparting the knowledge, perspectives, and skills that you anticipated when you chose our school. I state this confidently because we have learned many important lessons after the quick transition from in-person to online education this past Spring semester and the online courses offered during May term. Faculty are using their time this summer to thoroughly prepare learning opportunities integrating the best, research-validated instructional practices with their firm commitment to effective teaching. I fully expect our FA20 classes to embody the best that we can offer, no matter how they are taught.
Also, I anticipate that, utilizing appropriate health precautions, our campus will be active with classes happening outdoors, indoors following appropriate guidelines, and virtually. We are focused on providing a vibrant, safe experience for those who come/return to our campus (keep an eye out for updates from Student Affairs about housing, dining, and health services). Similarly, we are committed to our mission of providing you with a high-quality liberal arts and professional education that will serve you well now and in the future.
Q: Why is CAS offering these different forms of instruction?
A: To provide flexibility for a range of student needs for FA20.
When the decision was made to offer online, hybrid, and in-person FA20 courses, I emphasized the importance of being flexible so that the University could be responsive to health/safety considerations and continue to offer engaging courses. I want to highlight again the importance of flexibility. By having online, hybrid, and in-person courses, we have committed to flexible instruction that allows us to meet your needs AND be responsive to changing conditions. We have shifted 209 (27.2%) of our courses to fully online instruction. Another 277 (36.1%) will have hybrid instruction that makes use of online and in-person teaching. Combined with the 282 (36.7%) of courses that will be in-person, you should be able to arrange a course schedule that fits your learning needs.
Q: What will an “in-person course” entail?
A: A traditional experience that attends to health guidelines (i.e., social distance, face coverings, and sanitizing surfaces).
In-person courses will be taught in the traditional manner with professors and students sharing a physical space while practicing social distancing guidelines and wearing face coverings. All class meetings will be in-person, unless public health concerns require a pivot to online learning. Both students and professors will take time at the start of class to sanitize surfaces within their physical space.
Q: What will happen in an “online course” (OLN)?
A: Virtual interactions between you and the professor and between you and your classmates.
Online courses will be taught completely online. Class meetings may be held synchronously (i.e., everyone meeting online simultaneously), asynchronously (i.e., everyone going online at various times to complete work), or a mix of both, at your professor’s discretion. Your professor may encourage you to use your camera to help facilitate community, both with you individually as well as between you and your classmates.
Q: What is meant by a “hybrid course” (HYB)?
A: A combination of in-person and online instruction.
Hybrid courses will be taught using a mixture of in-person and online modalities at your professor’s discretion. In-person meetings will require social distancing, wearing of face coverings, and participation in sanitizing surfaces. As with traditional in-person meetings, you will be expected to be present whenever in-person class meetings are held. You should not expect that an online version will be made available should you need to miss an in-person class meeting. Professors may opt to bring the entire class together or have part of the class meet one day while others meet on a different day. In-person meetings may be concentrated at different points in the semester, or done in some other fashion. Like online courses, online meetings may be done synchronously or asynchronously.
Q: What will FA20 classes do if we have to quarantine again?
A: Adapt based on the teaching modality being used.
If a shift to all online instruction occurs at any point during FA20, we will be prepared and ready to continue offering an engaging learning experience to you. Each of the teaching modalities have qualities that will facilitate an effective transition.
The flexibility that comes with three modalities of instruction will serve us well if we must adjust our FA20 courses due to quarantining.
Q: If you need help with modifying FA20 courses, what should you do?
A: Contact your faculty advisor or the Registrar’s Office.
Hopefully through Colleague Self-Service, you have been able to see the teaching modality associated with the courses currently on your FA20 schedule. If you are confused about the changes that you wish to make, be sure to contact your faculty advisor. Some of you have already done this and I encourage others to do so as well. If you run into technical difficulties with processing schedule changes, you can contact the Registrar’s Office at registrar@redlands.edu. Please be patient in receiving a response. Also, be mindful that July 3 through July 5 is a holiday weekend. Monday (July 6) may work better for receiving a response.
I recognize that you have some important decisions to make in the weeks ahead. My hope is that you will craft a FA20 course schedule that allows you to continue making progress toward your degree. Ultimately, enabling you to complete your University of Redlands degree on time so that you can attain a promising future that benefits you, your family, and community is the clear goal for all of us at the University.
We all look forward to seeing you, in person or virtually, in less than two months when the Fall semester begins. In the meantime, take care and be well.
Sincerely,
Kendrick Brown
Dean, College of Arts and Sciences
University of Redlands
