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Pitt Public Health COVID-19 update (3/20 part II)


Dear Pitt Public Health Community, 

It’s been a difficult week and we’ve asked for a lot of patience and flexibility. As of 5 p.m. today all on-campus research work will be restricted to only essential activities and all educational activities and meetings must be conducted remotely.  On Monday we continue the semester using remote learning environments. There may be some bumps in the transition–including technological glitches–but we are optimistic that the course objectives will be met and that students will be able to complete the semester. Some of you (instructors) might be breathing a bit easier by now and feeling like you have a good handle on how to provide online education. And some of you (students) might be relieved to be back to classes and to making progress towards the end of the term. But we are all still facing significant challenges, and all of us are grieving the loss of normal life and daily routines. Please take care of your family, your friends, and yourself. It is OK if you can’t do everything you did before. It is OK to slow down and do what you can. Eat, sleep, exercise, and keep up the full-court press on the social distancing.  Please help spread the word about the importance of doing so.

And now the updates – many of which are drawn directly from the Provost’s recent update to faculty (see below).

Research Continuity

All Pitt Public Health faculty, staff, and students conducting research efforts should begin to work remotely where possible by close of business on Friday. Pitt will restrict use of all non-essential facilities on campus at that time. Pitt Research has issued guidance concerning essential research allowed to continue.  All of our research is important, but the priority must be the health and safety of our community.

Building Access

Pitt Public Health faculty, staff, and students may not use their offices, classrooms, or teaching labs for instructional purposes. We must all transition fully to remote teaching at this time. Only identified essential personnel will have access to the building in order to support critical research functions. If you have a critical need to access your office or lab to retrieve items necessary for continuing your remote teaching, you may call Pitt Police to gain access to your office (412-624-2121).

Course Grading

We recognize that it is a stressful time for students and encourage instructors to adopt significant flexibility in course grading for this term. The Provost just announced that all undergraduate and graduate students will be permitted to convert any of their courses during this spring term from a letter grade basis to a satisfactory (S)/no credit (NC) basis. Moreover, all courses that are awarded S grades will count toward graduation/degree requirements and satisfy future course prerequisites, while those courses awarded NC grades will not negatively impact a student's GPA. By allowing this change to be made after grades have been assigned, we are enabling students to consider all of their options and have time to contact their advisors to fully discuss the potential impact of their decisions, including effects on specialized program accreditation, external scholarship eligibility, impact on future educational pursuits (i.e., graduate school, medical school, residency applications), etc. Additional guidance aimed at helping faculty, students, and advisors with this process and decision will be forthcoming.

Instructor Back-up Plans 

While we hope and expect that Spring courses will transition online as best as possible given the current context and continue until the end of the term, the threat of illness or other extreme circumstances means that faculty who are teaching this term need to have back-up plans in place. This includes the following;

  1. Notifying your chair of a designated back-up instructor for your course. This individual will be responsible for completing the course should you be unavailable.  Associated responsibilities included grading coursework and entering final grades. Please make sure that the back-up faculty has access to the learning management system that you use (BlackBoard or Canvas) and any additional course materials.  The Center for Teaching and Learning’s knowledge base (FAQ webpage) is a good resource for directions about how to make such additions. Please contact Robin Leaf (ral9@pitt.edu) or Kimmy Rehak (rehak@pitt.edu) if you have trouble and need help.
     
  2. If you are planning a synchronous approach for teaching online (real-time lectures/discussion) developing a back-up plan for asynchronous instruction and/or alternative assessments. Such a plan might include using videos, readings, Panopto lectures or alternative assignments and rubrics. Hopefully, you/your backup won’t need to use these alternative approaches, but it’s best to plan and be prepared.  Our goal is to support the educational mission of the University and to allow the currently enrolled students to finish the semester. 

Help Desk for Online Instruction

Pitt Public Health IT and Educational Programs staff are available Monday–Friday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., virtually via Zoom to assist with IT and educational technology questions. Please refer to your e-mail dated 3/30/20 for a link to the Zoom meeting. the link. If this is your first time using Zoom, please go to pitt.zoom.us first to set up your profile.

Computer Labs

Because the university is physically closing except for extremely limited research activities, there will be no computer lab or printer access. There is a virtual computer lab that should give access to software normally used in the university’s physical labs.

Counseling Center 

Online and digital counseling services and resources are available for students by contacting the University Counseling Center at 412-648-7930 x1. Additionally, Therapy Assistance Online resources continue to be available.

Academic Term Dates

At this time, there are no plans to modify the end date of the spring semester or change the start date of any of the summer sessions. As needed, flexibility will be granted to faculty members in conveying final term grades, as well as to departments with respect to certification of graduation requirements.

Faculty Milestones

We recognize that all faculty are worried about milestones and evaluations given the effects of the current situation on personal and professional lives. This is an important issue that the University and the school will address in the coming weeks. For faculty with tenure clock concerns, the current University policy on tenure clock extensions can be used to extend the probationary period due to impacts of COVID-19. Faculty may request a  Type A temporary extension of the tenure clock upon recommendation of the dean. The provost will approve requests from faculty members who need the extension because of interruptions in research due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, even if they have had one in the past. Faculty—especially those who are nearing their mandatory review period—are encouraged to talk with their chairs or deans about a Type A extension as soon as possible. Questions can be directed to faculty@pitt.edu

Eleanor Feingold, Executive Associate Dean
feingold@pitt.edu

Jessie Burke, Associate Dean for Education
jgburke@pitt.edu

Renae Brinza, Associate Dean for Administration and Finance
brinza@pitt.edu
 


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Dear Colleagues,

Across all our campuses, over the course of this one, intense week, you have made Herculean efforts to move your courses to remote and online teaching. I congratulate you on your excellent and speedy response and want to thank you for your flexibility, innovation, and dedication during this time of transition.

Our collective efforts will contribute in significant ways as we seek to reduce the spread of COVID-19. The health and safety of every member of the Pitt family is our top priority. That is why we are taking exceptional steps to reduce risk. Working together, we will “flatten the curve.”

This letter focuses primarily on resources and guidance related to teaching. Pitt Research has issued guidance concerning essential research. Vice Provost Nathan Urban will also follow up this letter with one to graduate faculty, students, and post-docs.

The University Center for Teaching and Learning is serving faculty across schools and campuses, as well as providing support to school- and campus-based tech staff who are offering faculty significant assistance to get ready. Your engagement with the center has been extraordinary: you have accessed their web pages, designed exclusively to help faculty adopt the new teaching models, over 8,000 times, and more than 1,300 of you have attended their virtual workshops since March 11. Please continue to explore and take advantage of resources provided by both the center and by Pitt IT for remote teaching and working. I especially want to thank Cynthia Golden, Associate Provost and Executive Director for the University Center for Teaching and Learning; Mark Henderson, Chief Information Officer and Vice Chancellor; and their excellent teams for their tireless work in support of our teaching needs in this new environment.

Please note the list of available resources at the end of this letter. Pitt IT’s 24/7 IT Help Desk can assist you day or night. Please do not hesitate to report any difficulties you experience with your technology or internet access. The IT Help Desk can also assist students who cannot access the technology because they do not have needed equipment or access to internet service.

Access to Faculty Offices and Labs for Instructional Purposes

In accordance with the measures announced Wednesday by Chancellor Gallagher and with the Governor’s Order of March 19, faculty members may not use their offices, classrooms, or teaching labs for instructional purposes. We must all transition fully to remote teaching at this time. However, our teaching mission is considered to be essential, “life-sustaining” work. As such, if you have a critical need to access your office or lab to retrieve items necessary for continuing your remote teaching, you may call Pitt Police to gain access to your office (412-624-2121). Should you experience a technology disruption at home, you may temporarily use your office to teach remotely until a solution is provided by Pitt IT. To do so you will need to call Pitt Police.

In this rapidly changing situation, a working group convenes daily to reach decisions about facilities across campus. Updates are posted on the Office of Emergency Management site, as well as on the University Library System site. Similar updates are being posted on websites for each of our regional campuses.

Guidance for Grading This Semester

As faculty members, you have gone to extraordinary lengths to construct a remote learning environment that will maximize our students' ability to accomplish the learning outcomes of their intended course(s) of study without jeopardizing the health of any members of our University community.

At the same time, the uncertainty of this unprecedented situation is a source of significant anxiety for many of our students and their families. To help mitigate student stress and facilitate academic success in the coming weeks, the University is adopting a significant level of flexibility in course grading for this semester. After the conclusion of this term, all undergraduate and graduate students will be permitted to convert any of their courses during this spring term from a letter grade basis to a satisfactory (S)/no credit (NC) basis. Moreover, all courses that are awarded S grades will count toward graduation/degree requirements and satisfy future course prerequisites, while those courses awarded NC grades will not negatively impact a student's GPA.

By allowing this change to be made after grades have been assigned, we are enabling students to consider all of their options and have time to contact their advisors to fully discuss the potential impact of their decisions, including effects on specialized program accreditation, external scholarship eligibility, impact on future educational pursuits (i.e., graduate school, medical school, residency applications), etc. Additional guidance aimed at helping you, students, and advisors with this process and decision will be forthcoming.

Graduate Classes

Traditional in-person graduate classes must also be conducted remotely. Faculty should be communicating with their students as soon as possible about how this will take place. No courses, workshops, lab meetings or journal clubs should meet in person. None of these are permitted under the Governor’s order.

Thesis Defenses and Other Milestones

All requirements for in-person participation in thesis committees and other milestones are suspended. Where possible these milestones should not be delayed solely due to the switch to online or to limitations of technology. Students are not required to provide hard copies of theses or other documents since access to University and other printing services will not be available. Support for electronic thesis and dissertations is still available.

Teaching Assistants and Teaching Fellows

Teaching Assistants and Teaching Fellows will continue to be trained in, and to support, teaching as we move online. TAs and TFs will consult with their faculty to understand the expectations. In no case should this transition result in students on a TA or TF appointment being asked to spend more than an average of 20 hours per week on their TA or TF assignment or to travel to campus to carry out their duties.

Academic Term Dates

At this time, there are no plans to modify the end date of the spring semester or change the start date of any of the summer sessions. As needed, flexibility will be granted to faculty members in conveying final term grades, as well as to departments with respect to certification of graduation requirements.

Due to the week that has been devoted to transitioning to remote learning, the academic term—which is typically 15 weeks—has been shortened to 14 weeks of student effort. In accordance with the U.S. Department of Education Code 34 CFR § 668.3, the University has requested a temporary reduction in the length of the academic year. In anticipation of the Secretary granting this request, please construct your curriculum for the remainder of the semester with the aim of achieving your course's critical student learning outcomes via normal student effort over the remaining five weeks of the original academic year (inclusive of finals week).

Summer Term Planning

Planning for the summer sessions should continue with the expectation that courses will be delivered remotely.

Option to Extend the Tenure Clock

Our current policy on tenure clock extensions is sufficiently broad to accommodate the needs of faculty in the tenure stream to extend the probationary period due to impacts of COVID-19. Faculty may request a Type A temporary extension of the tenure clock upon recommendation of your dean or campus president. The Provost will approve requests from faculty members who need the extension because of interruptions in research due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, even if they have had one in the past. Faculty—especially those who are nearing their mandatory review period—are encouraged to talk with their chairs or deans about a Type A extension as soon as possible. Questions can be directed to faculty@pitt.edu.

Student Opinion of Teaching Surveys

Some have asked if we will use Student Opinion of Teaching Surveys this term in the same manner as the past. While the University does not require the use of OMETs, we do require evaluation of teaching. Many academic units across Pitt do use and rely on OMETs as an indication of teaching effectiveness.

Student Opinion of Teaching Surveys administered by the Office of Measurement and Evaluation of Teaching (OMET) will be available this term as usual with two qualifications: (1) OMET survey results will not be used as part of the 2019-2020 annual review process or submitted as part of a dossier for promotion or tenure for T/TS/AS faculty unless a faculty member requests them to be included; and (2) a few questions will be added to this term’s standard survey to collect data about our collective experience with remote instruction. Aggregated results about the students’ experiences with remote teaching this term will provide much-needed insight and will be shared with the University community.

I am deeply grateful to each of you for your resilience and understanding, as well as for sharing with me your questions, suggestions, and concerns. While I know we will experience additional challenges in the days and weeks ahead, I also know that you, our outstanding faculty, are committed to providing our students with the best academic experience possible under the circumstances. Ours is a University that has a proud history of rising to meet far-reaching opportunities and of discovering new solutions to improve the world. In our actions now, we are continuing to build our legacy.

Hail to Pitt!

Ann E. Cudd
Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor

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Available Resources for Teaching Remotely

  • Pitt IT's new Virtual Lab—available from any location with an internet connection, using almost any computer or mobile device—provides much of the software available in Student Computing Labs on campus.
  • Zoom Video Conferencing combines real-time chat, content sharing, and video in an easy-to-use interface integrated with CourseWeb (Blackboard) and the University’s new Learning Management System (Canvas).
  • You can host an audio-only conference with Microsoft Office 365 Audio Conferencing.
  • Microsoft Teams includes instant messaging, audio or video calls, desktop and file sharing, and more—and works seamlessly with Office 365 programs like Word, Excel, and OneDrive.
  • You can use online versions of Microsoft Office 365 Pro Plus or download and install apps on Windows or Mac PCs, at no cost, on up to five devices.
  • OneDrive and Box allow you to store files and co-edit documents in the cloud—and are fully integrated with Teams and other Microsoft Office 365 tools.
  • Software Download Service provides a variety of free software—including Antivirus (Symantec Endpoint) and Antimalware (Malwarebytes) Protection and Malwarebytes.
  • The Pitt App Center provides one-stop access to University-related mobile apps.
  • PittNet VPN (Pulse Secure) allows you to remotely access restricted network resources. Note: You do not need to use PittNet VPN to access University resources protected by Pitt Passport, such as Pitt Email and Calendar, Office 365, or My Pitt.
  • Virtual desktops installed with the most-used enterprise applications (Office 365, Creative Cloud, etc.) are currently available to faculty and staff. If interested, units should make inquiries to the Technology Help Desk.

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3/23/2020
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