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For months, you and hundreds of your faculty colleagues have helped prepare The University of Texas at Arlington to return to campus for the fall term. That day is nearly upon us – and I want to thank you for your efforts to get us here.
For a successful return to in-person learning, we are recommending or adopting a number of new practices to help facilitate a safe and healthy transition. Many of your colleagues, working on various committees formed under either the Campus Repopulation Task Force or the Fall Academic and Course Planning Task Force, have helped develop processes and FAQs to get us prepared.
The plans and documents linked below are the results of a deliberative and thoughtful process undertaken by your colleagues across the university over the last several months. The links are:
- Fall 2020 Classroom Use Procedures: This outlines safety protocols defining how you and your students should enter and exit classrooms to maintain social distancing.
- FAQs for faculty: This includes FAQs on what to do if a student in your class tests positive for COVID-19 and other questions and answers about classroom issues you may face this term.
- Protocols for positive tests or close contact: These charts help guide faculty through the steps they should take if they come in contact with a student or staff member who tests positive for COVID-19
- Mask Protocol-Scripts: In response to your requests, we have produced suggested scripts and a flow chart to guide you through discussions with students who don’t comply with UTA’s mask protocol.
- Infographic-No Face Covering: This infographic has useful information on how to discuss the mask protocol with students, and how to report individuals who are refusing to comply.
Other resources and reminders
- Listening sessions: We have continued to solicit input and respond to questions through a series of listening sessions with your faculty colleagues, UTA staff members, and students and their families. In addition, colleges and schools have held listening sessions for their audiences. We could not have done this without your help.
- COVID-19 training for students: We ask you to encourage all students to complete the Fall 2020 COVID-19 Student Training in Canvas, regardless of whether or not their fall courses are on campus. This is so all of our students are aware of the standards that will protect our classroom environments.
- Update on international students: The Office of International Education recommends you be aware of these websites:
- Classroom video: Our office is working with University Advancement to produce a video that you can show during your first classes. It will include information about wearing masks and other classroom expectations and behavior. It will be uploaded to Canvas and emailed to you as well.
- Course modality: All of you worked hard to ensure we could enter the fall term offering online, in-person or hybrid modalities. MyMav is updated with our final decisions on modality. Please ensure that you teach your courses in the modality listed so that students are able to effectively plan their schedules. Thank you for your help.
We will continue to work with the leadership in your college or school to provide a safe working environment as we prepare to welcome students back to campus. A successful return to campus is going to take the best efforts of everyone at UTA: students, faculty, and staff.
Thank you for being leaders, for remaining committed to providing a robust educational experience for our students and for all you do for UTA.
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