A message from Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Donald Nieman with information and links on planning for the spring 2022 semester
Dear colleagues,
It's hard to believe, but the spring semester is upon us. I'd like to bring to your attention some policies that are important for us as we launch the semester, but before I do that, let me thank you for your hard work, creativity and commitment to students during the very challenging past two years. Because of your professionalism and commitment to our students, I believe we have offered Binghamton students a high-quality, challenging educational experience.
Now to the reminders and guidance for spring. I know this is long, but my colleagues in the Provost’s Office (especially Don Loewen and James Pitarresi) want you to be as well informed as possible as the semester begins.
In-person classes and instructional policies
Meeting with our students in the classroom is a core part of our identity as an academically selective residential University. Apart from the very few courses that appear in the Schedule of Classes as “DI Learn” (Distance Learning) courses, we will launch and complete the semester as we normally do with our courses taught as in-person courses. We will continue to take steps to safeguard the health of our campus community and I am confident that we have a robust plan to deal with pandemic-related contingencies as they arise. Instructors may not change a course’s mode of delivery or schedule from the mode and schedule designated in the Schedule of Classes.
To assist instructors with questions or situations they may encounter, a variety of suggested syllabus statements and guidance can be found here: https://www.binghamton.edu/covid-guidance/additional-information.html#faculty. Topics addressed include sample syllabus statements to address public health requirements in the classroom (e.g. face covering requirements) and consequences for students who choose not to comply. (Feel free to use or modify the sample syllabus statements provided on the web page.)
Student absences
If a student is unable to attend class for illness or some other legitimate reason for a week or so, instructors are free to accommodate the absence in a way that works for their learning environment. The Center for Learning and Teaching can provide advice and assistance, including temporary Classroom Technology Assistants if instructors believe that is a helpful approach for their course. If a student requests an accommodation or is unable to attend in person for a longer period (more than two weeks), the instructor should refer the student to the Services for Students with Disabilities office; SSD staff will work with the instructor and the student to determine if an acceptable accommodation can be found. We expect students to return to the classroom as soon as they are able to do so. Because the isolation period for most students who test positive for COVID is now five days, the length of many students’ absence will be more manageable for them and the instructor than in the past.
Decker Student Health Services (DSHS)does not have the resources to issue individual notes confirming illness. Please do not require this of your students. Where possible, we will issue an automated notice to instructors about a student’s anticipated absence from the class. I know that some students will take advantage of this guidance to claim an excused absence when they are not ill. However, DSHS, which continues to be stretched thin by the pandemic, simply does not have the resources to provides notes.
DSHS maintains information and COVID-19 guidance regarding vaccination and booster requirements, isolation and quarantine requirements, and more here: https://www.binghamton.edu/health/covid-19/index.html. Information is updated as necessary.
Final examinations
All final examinations — including any end-of-semester tests or exams — must be administered during final exam week at the time scheduled for them. Faculty should not administer final exams, end-of-semester exams or quizzes, or require students to turn in take-home exams during the last week of the semester. Take-home finals or take-home end-of-semester exams should be turned in during finals week at the time scheduled for the examination. Students may not be required to take more than two exams during any 24-hour period during finals week. If there is a conflict, the faculty member teaching the class with the largest enrollment should schedule a make-up time for affected students. You can find the final exam policy at http://www.binghamton.edu/academics/provost/faculty-staff-handbook/handbook-vii.html#C5.
Academic Calendar
This semester, there will be two dates when classes typically scheduled for a particular day will meet on a different day:
- On Wednesday, April 13, Friday classes will meet. On that day, classes will meet at the same time and location as classes scheduled on Fridays. Only Friday classes will meet on Wednesday, April 13; Wednesday classes will not meet that day.
- On Tuesday, April 19, Monday classes will meet. On that day, classes will meet at the same time and location as classes scheduled on Mondays. Only Monday classes will meet on Tuesday, April 19; Tuesday classes will not meet that day.
I know that this may be a bit confusing, but this schedule is designed to provide 14 class meetings for each day of the week over the course of the semester, thereby assuring that our classes have sufficient contact hours to meet credit-hour standards. Please inform your students of these adjustments.
Academic Assessment Days
In fall '21, we implemented a faculty suggestion to designate a day as Academic Assessment Day with the goal of encouraging instructors to ensure that they would have a way to evaluate student progress by the fifth or sixth week of the semester. Many instructors acted on this request and then followed through by raising alerts about students who were struggling, as well as giving kudos to students who were doing well.
That feedback made a difference — many of the students who had alerts raised took action to improve, including signing up for tutoring or meeting with academic advisors and other sources of support. Others withdrew from a course so they could focus on succeeding in their other courses.
Faculty feedback in fall suggested that a slightly longer time frame would be helpful, so for spring '22 we're designating March 1–4 as Academic Assessment Days to allow greater flexibility. We are again asking instructors to participate in two ways:
- For all lower-division (i.e., 100- and 200-level) undergraduate courses, provide some kind of substantive academic assessment and feedback to students by March 1–4. This might come in the form of quizzes, one or more writing assignments, a unit test or something else that makes sense for your course and subject matter. Many instructors already design their courses to provide this kind of early assessment and feedback for students. For others, this might mean adding something to the course or changing the timing of a test.
- The second part of Academic Assessment Days is identifying the students who are at risk. Telling us about students who are not attending class, whose participation is cause for concern or whose academic performance suggests that they may not be successful in the course will help initiate proactive support for students. Your feedback through the new Advise Platform will help us to provide academic support, tutoring and other interventions early enough in the semester to make a difference for students who need some help.
Syllabus statement on course expectations and credit hours
Binghamton University’s Faculty Senate adopted a policy directing faculty to include in their course syllabi an explanation of expectations for work done by students outside of class. Binghamton University is unusual in offering a large majority of its undergraduate courses for four credit hours. This approach, developed by the Harpur College faculty in the 1960s, assumed that Binghamton courses offered greater depth than similarly titled courses at other institutions. It was central to the philosophy embodied in Harpur College's credo — "From breadth through depth to perspective" — and assumed that students would do significantly more work outside of class than for a similarly titled three-credit course. The policy is designed to assure that faculty explain to students the expectations we have of them for work outside of class; it provides suggested standard formulations that faculty can use to convey these expectations in their syllabi and also includes sample statements for three-credit and two-credit courses. The policy can be found at https://www.binghamton.edu/academics/provost/docs/syllabus-credit-hours.pdf. I encourage you to take a look at this document and include information contained therein in your syllabi. If you have questions, please contact Don Loewen, vice provost for undergraduate education and enrollment management, at djloewen@binghamton.edu.
General Education
This is a reminder that faculty or graduate students teaching General Education courses should include the General Education student learning outcomes in their syllabi for the General Education categories that their courses meet. This is necessary for the University to be in compliance with regulatory and reporting requirements, including Middle States accreditation standards. The General Education learning outcomes can be found online at https://www.binghamton.edu/general-education/documents/revised-outcomes-050615.pdf. Please contact Donald Loewen, vice provost for undergraduate education and enrollment management, at djloewen@binghamton.edu or 607-777-2142 if you have questions about the General Education requirements.
Best wishes for a successful spring semester.
Don
