November 16, 2020  |  News & Events, Timely Announcements

Date: November 13, 2020

Dear all:

1. Beginning Monday, November 30, all courses with a face-to-face component on any of the three campuses will switch to a fully online format.

  1. This change includes labs and studios.
  2. This change includes all exams including finals.
  3. Internships, practica, and placements off campus are not affected by this change and may continue if allowed by the off-campus site.
  4. Course-related activities on campus needed for student licensure or related reasons may continue on campus after Thanksgiving. These are expected to be very few and we encourage units to get these activities done before Thanksgiving if at all practical.
  5. The Monitoring Core Team (MCT, led by Stephen Schmid and Kim Litwack) will be the starting point for approval of these post-Thanksgiving on-campus course activities. Please send requests to Stephen (schmids@uwm.edu) with the course, the rationale for continuing, and the number of students involved. Students who engage in on-campus course activities may be required to have additional COVID testing completed; more guidance will be coming on that early next week.

2. Instructors of courses with a face-to-face component are expected to contact their students by early next week to convey their plans for online instruction and exams after Thanksgiving.

3. Research activities including graduate students and staff may continue and will be guided by the safety principles and trigger points outlined in the Office of Research COVID-19 plan.

4. With the change to online instruction, faculty and instructional staff may work at home to the extent consistent with the changes. More guidance for deans, division heads, and supervisors, regarding all employees and onsite work, will be coming next week.

5. Residence Halls will remain open and students may continue living on campus. Students will not be offered refunds if they choose not to return to the residence halls.

6. The Emergency Operations Center (EOC) will be working next week to provide more details on how this change may affect other activities and non-academic operations, including those that serve students or prospective students. Bear in mind that these operations are in a different place than last Spring, with significant safety protocols in place and the campus already de-densified.

Take care,
Johannes

Johannes Britz
Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
NOTE: Message sent to Deans, Associate Deans and Deans Assistants on 11/13/2020