Week of March 9 - 13, 2020

March 13, 2020 - A Message from the Provost - Ohio Department of Health Guidelines, Session B, Academic Continuity Resource Guide

March 13, 2020 - Message from Jeff Tuma, Andrew Pegman and Karen Miller

March 12, 2020 - A Message from the Provost - Covid-19

March 11, 2020 - A Message from the Provost - Online Course Delivery and Resources

March 13, 2020 A Message from the Provost - Ohio Department of Health Guidelines, Session B, Academic Continuity Resource Guide

We continue to work with departments and representatives throughout the College to respond to the latest information and guidance concerning COVID-19.  Based on our work today, I wanted to share the following updates with you:

• We continue to work across the College to implement the Ohio Department of Health’s directive to cancel large meetings and to minimize large gatherings of people in spaces while balancing our student’s needs to complete classes and have access to support services, both virtually and in person.
• To ensure we continue to share information and communications throughout the College, all emails sent from the College to our students will also be posted on My Tri-C Space under the Faculty Tab for you to review.  To access, simply log into My Tri-C Space, and click on “Faculty” located along the right side of the page, and you will see a link to student emails.
• Additionally, faculty can continue to work from their on-campus office and on site equipment or classroom to transition to online modalities which allows you to have access to regular on-campus resources and assistance.
• Session B (our traditional, second 8-week session) begins on Monday, March 16.  As with other courses and parts of term, session B classes that are online or blended begin will begin as scheduled on March 16.  Session B classes that are on-ground will begin March 23.  The refund date for these specific 8 week courses will be adjusted and once new dates are determined we will share them with you.
• We are pleased to share with you the Faculty Academic Continuity Resource Guide.  This Guide is posted online in two locations.  The Guide can be found on My Tri-C Space under the Faculty Tab under the COVID-19 update.  This site can be accessed using the instructions above.  Additional, the Guide is posted on the Tri-C webpage for COVID-19 under the faculty resources page, and can be accessed here: Faculty Academic Continuity Resource Guide.  A student guide will be available early next week, which we will include in an email update to come. 

As our faculty continue to transition on-ground classes to an online modality, we encourage you to reach out to the appropriate College department directly should you need assistance, as they remain open and ready to assist faculty.  Contact information for these departments can be found by following the KWeb links below.

• The Centers for Learning Excellence, located on each campus, can assist you: https://kweb.tri-c.edu/Departments/cle/SitePages/Home.aspx
• Online Learning & Technology staff can help you with any issues related to your Blackboard sites: https://kweb.tri-c.edu/Departments/OLAT/SitePages/Home.aspx
• The Help Desk can be reached at 216-987-HELP (4357), email (helpdesk@tri-c.edu), or Chat live with the Tri-C Help Desk.
• For additional assistance, please contact your dean or their office as they will be onsite to support you through this transitional time.

We cannot thank you enough for your support and adaptability during these extenuating and challenging circumstances.  We continue to welcome your questions and thank you for your encouraging emails as we work together in true Tri-C form.  I’m grateful for your dedication to our students and the College.  Thank you all!

Karen Miller 

March 13, 2020 Message from Jeff Tuma, Andrew Pegman and Karen Miller

To all faculty:

We want to take this opportunity to thank Tri-C’s dedicated faculty for your patience and persistence as the College continues to develop its response to the ever-changing situation around COVID-19.  Faculty leadership and administration have been working hand-in-hand to act on behalf of the College to make the best decisions possible for our students, faculty, staff and community based upon guidance and direction from the Governor’s Office, the Governor’s medical advisor, the Ohio Department of Education, and our peer colleges.   

At the College, we are working internally to create training and support for faculty transitioning to online courses, and preparing staff and facilities behind the scenes to support increased cleaning and sanitization, more computer labs for students needing access, additional technology training and support for faculty, and increased support for staff while maintaining on campus services for individual students needing support on our sites.  We are working closely with departments such as OLAT, the CLEs, ITS, facilities management and budget to ensure faculty have the technology, connectivity, training, course materials and information needed to continue providing our students the highest quality education as many shift to an online learning environment.  We support faculty office hours both on ground and online.  We are also working with our teams on the ground to ensure our Counseling Offices, libraries and TLCs are clean, and we are looking at adjusting some of our service areas to assure we deliver services safely and with social distancing in mind.  We encourage faculty to reach out to other faculty to share technology tips and best practices as we work through this transition together, and we will gladly answer your questions and concerns along the way.  We are in this together.

We know this new normal is changing by the day, and we ask for your flexibility and patience as we respond collaboratively.  We will continue to update you as information changes.  We want to assure you we have the students, faculty and our community’s best interest top of mind.  Thank you for your support during this extremely tenuous time, and please reach out to us for support as needed.
 
Jeff Tuma, Andrew Pegman, Karen Miller 

March 12, 2020 - A Message from the Provost - Covid-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has created an unprecedented situation for higher education throughout the country and we ask for your patience as we try to collectively respond to your questions, suggestions and concerns.  This is a constantly evolving situation and some initial decisions may change as additional information or advice from state and city governments and the Ohio Department of Higher Education (ODHE) is received.  In order to ensure you have the latest information, I will attempt to provide daily updates and other information as appropriate.

• As we make and implement decisions, our primary focus continues to be on maintaining the health and safety of students, faculty and staff. Additionally, we continue to focus on ways students can complete courses the best way possible. Our decision to move on-ground classes to alternative delivery methods was precipitated by the recommendation from the Governor’s Office and the ODHE to minimize large numbers of individuals coming within close contact.
• At this time the College remains open with most student and faculty services available.  For example, faculty have access to their offices (or adjunct services offices), the CLEs, and the testing centers. Students also have access to the testing centers, tutoring, counseling, financial aid offices, and other campus resources. We have been and will continue to make extra cleaning and sanitization a priority in these and other areas and will utilize social distancing where necessary.
• Instructional faculty may choose to hold weekly office hours virtually.
• Non-instructional faculty who work mostly with students one-on-one are asked to work with their assistant deans to adjust work areas as needed to maximize staff and student safety and privacy.  This may mean working in open areas or classrooms with appropriate social distancing. We also encourage counselors who are able to utilize online advising to do so as well as communicating with students by email and phone when possible.
• Our testing centers are working to accommodate increased testing demands as courses move online. Each campus will communicate with you directly about any expansion of services as appropriate.  When possible, faculty are encouraged to create online assessments or use ProctorU, our online proctored testing service instead of using on site computer labs. To accommodate additional testing, the College has increased access to ProctorU. Learn more information here. 
• During this semester as classes and labs move online, the College has received permission from the state to offer science labs online and has reaffirmed their eligibility to be transferred and applied to general education requirements (TAGs and OTMs).
• We ask that our faculty, when appropriate, consider offering additional attendance flexibility for student illnesses given the Centers for Disease Control’s recommendation that all persons who suspect that they have the flu should self-quarantine and seek medical attention. A joint faculty/staff committee has developed the following suggested syllabi statements:
  • Illness Due to Flu: The COVID-19 flu may affect class attendance. If any of us develop flu-like symptoms, we are being advised to stay home until any fever has subsided for 24 hours. If you become ill and are unable to complete coursework, notify me of your status PRIOR to assignment due dates or as soon as possible through the preferred communication method I have established. We will continue to communicate and work together to help ensure that course instruction and work is completed for the semester. It remains the student’s responsibility to make up all work missed due to illness.
• College Credit Plus:  Given the Governor’s press conference held this afternoon, we will have more information on CCP classes in the high school to share soon.
• Due to these unusual circumstances, we have worked with AAUP to collectively decide that all faculty evaluations and observations are suspended for the remainder of the semester. Letters of exemption will be provided to tenure-track faculty for inclusion in their tenure portfolios.
• For faculty that choose to use Blackboard to transition a class online, your course templates will be available now. Students will have access to the course site at 12:01 a.m. on Monday, March 23.
• OLAT, the CLEs, adjunct services and your campus deans continue to work on developing training materials and supports for you and your students. We will continue to provide you with additional information as it becomes available. 
• Online Blackboard Boot Campus have been scheduled. Register as needed through TEC:
  • Online training - March 16-22, March 18-24, March 20-26, March 23-29, April 10-16
  • In-person training - Monday April 6, 1-4 p.m., West Campus WTLC GT-215, Friday, May 1, 9 a.m. - noon, East Campus ESS 3210               

The Academic Continuity Guide (Online Teaching Resource) is available here.

The Help Desk can be reached at 216-987-HELP (4357) or helpdesk@tri-c.edu. 

If you received a request to administer the CCSSE (Community College Survey of Student Experience) please disregard the request.  We have suspended the distribution and will not conduct the survey this semester.

Again, we thank you for your patience as we work through this transition.  We will provide an update to you again tomorrow with additional information. Thank you for your support.

Karen 

March 11, 2020 - A Message from the Provost - Online Course Delivery and Resources

Earlier today, the College announced that on-ground, seat-based courses will be moving to alternative delivery methods and will be postponed until the week of March 23. Blended courses, which will also be moved fully online, and existing online courses will resume instruction on March 16. The extra week for seat-based classes will allow faculty time to plan and transition to a different delivery method. As you might imagine, the situation is fluid and evolving. We ask for your patience and understanding as we work together to resolve the many challenges that will undoubtedly arise. 

The health and safety of our students, faculty and staff are of utmost importance. We will continue to consider the advice of medical professionals, the CDC and state, regional and local health departments as situations change. Visit the Faculty tab in my Tri-C space or www.tri-c.edu/coronavirus for up-to-date information.

Please note:

• Alternative delivery methods may include transitioning to a Blackboard (Bb) course site, using Webex (video/phone conferencing) or providing additional assignments, readings, etc. Each faculty member must decide which method to use based on content, student needs, pedagogical strengths and other constraints.
• As a proactive measure, the College is building new Bb course templates for all existing credit-bearing CRNs that do not already have a site. All sites should be loaded and operational as soon as this weekend. As part of this process, you and your students will receive an automatic notification that the site is available. The message will include a statement that the site currently contains no content and that faculty will be in touch with their students regarding how the course will continue. You may choose to use this site or a different delivery method.
• The Bb training requirement (Bb Boot Camp) is being lifted temporarily. The new course template includes many embedded instructions, and many resources can be found on the Online Learning and Academic Technology webpage. Additional training sessions and 1x1 help will be available at each campus. Please watch for additional emails.
• It is important to note that the College remains open. Only on-ground and blended classes are impacted at this time. All campus faculty and student support areas remain open (e.g., libraries, counseling, computer labs, testing centers, tutoring). Faculty will be able to access their offices and services as normal.
• Instructional faculty are required to meet their teaching and in-person and virtual office hour obligations. Some small group meetings will still occur. Large group meetings may move to Webex or be delayed/cancelled.
• We understand that moving to alternative instructional methods is particularly challenging — and perhaps impossible — for hands-on, experiential courses such as science labs, studio art, dance, theater and health career/skills labs. We will provide further guidance on these issues as soon as possible. Off-site clinicals should proceed as planned or until the program director communicates otherwise.
• If you become ill or are unable to facilitate your classes, please follow normal procedures for contacting your associate dean’s office. It is important that your students are notified.
• Please remember that academic integrity and rigor remain important and central to your management of course content, minutes devoted to learning, and student learning outcomes. 

As faculty, you will be on the front line with students We appreciate the amount of work it will take for you to adjust your courses, if appropriate, from on-ground to online. 

Please watch for additional updates.

Karen Miller, Ph.D.
Provost/Executive Vice President