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Fall Planning

Barring any new government restrictions impacting the ability for employees to return to the workplace, Northwestern’s goal is to have employees transition back to their previous, or into their new regular work location, by August 1, 2021. 

The VP, department head, and supervisor are responsible for managing employee schedules and determining work locations, as they know their business needs best. Departments are encouraged to consider a phased approach, such as alternate weeks/days to allow employees a reasonable time to transition back to working onsite and to ensure that mitigation protocols are in place. 

The information below regarding working remotely is being provided to supervisors today so you have time to think through remote work options and possible impact to your area before the Remote Work Policy is sent to employees next week.

If you have positions in your area that are conducive to remote work, it will be important to talk to your employees regarding their desire or request to work remotely prior to August 1. Employees interested in pursuing remote work should read the Remote Work Policy and complete and submit the Remote Work Request. If an employee wishes to request a new ADA accommodation or flexible work schedule related to the pandemic, a new request form for Fall 2021 must be submitted for consideration. (Note: employees previously approved for an ADA (Americans with Disabilities) accommodation do not need to submit a new request.)

If you have employees who are uncomfortable returning to the worksite, please reach out to your HR Business Partner to discuss.

A Supervisor Guide to Remote Work is being provided to you as a resource to help you navigate the remote work landscape.

Commencement Viewing Opportunity

As you know, spring commencement ceremonies will be taking place in the Knight Performance Hall (KPH) on May 14 & 15 at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. While each graduate will be provided up to three tickets for their guests to attend in KPH, due to COVID protocols, there is not room in KPH for faculty or additional guests to attend. As such, all four ceremonies will be livestreamed so faculty and other guests may view from home or elsewhere (the livestreaming links are located on the commencement planning page).

 

As an alternative opportunity to celebrate with your graduating students, faculty are invited to view the commencement livestream in the Nazareth Great Room (NGR) where light refreshments will be available. Six-foot distancing will be in place, resulting in room capacity of 54 faculty per ceremony. After each ceremony, you are encouraged to attend a reception on the campus green to greet graduates and their guests in person (seated reception in Graham Commons if inclement weather).

-          Note: Prepackaged to-go light refreshments for graduates and their guests will be available on the campus green for graduates only to pick up. Beverages will be available for all.

 

Request: In order for me to assist Bon Appétit with refreshment quantities for use in the NGR and to ensure maximum capacity is not exceeded, please RSVP by Monday, May 3 indicating which ceremony/ceremonies you plan to attend in the NGR. Since there is limited seating, responses received will be on a first-come, first-served basis. Ceremonies are listed below:

-          Ceremony 1: Friday, May 14, 10 a.m.

-          Ceremony 2: Friday, May 14, 3 p.m.

-          Ceremony 3: Saturday, May 15, 10 a.m.

-          Ceremony 4: Saturday, May 15, 3 p.m.  

 

Please feel free to let me know if you have questions.

Additional note: Because of COVID protocols, we had to divide up graduates differently than we normally have in the past when we simply identified which Colleges were in which ceremony. This time, we had to determine which graduates are in which ceremony down to the major level. As such, while most departments/schools are intact, some departments/schools are divided between ceremonies (e.g., for the Department of Psychology, Criminal Justice & Law Enforcement, psychology majors are in ceremony 2 and criminal justice majors are in ceremony 4). Additionally, portions of all three Trad Colleges are participating in all four commencement ceremonies. As such, it is important for faculty to look at the detailed breakdown as found at the below links and as provided here again for your convenience (commencement planning page).

Let's Finish Strong

I hope you all had a chance to view Dr. Cureton's message and encouragement about working together to have a strong finish to our semester. Although we have seen our internal numbers ticking up over the past few weeks, our campus has been able to remain at Green because of our community's commitment to maintaining protocols during these final weeks. Thank you for doing your part and remaining diligent as we approach graduation.

Supporting Students During Final

As we near finals, we want to clearly communicate how you will know if a student is not able to take a final exam due to COVID or other sickness.

  • If a student is in isolation or quarantine and cannot come to an in-person exam, you will receive an email from the Registrar’s office specifying an approved exam reschedule date.
  • If the student is in isolation or quarantine, is feeling fine, and can take the exam virtually, the student will be expected to do so.
  • If a student is sick (i.e., in isolation, quarantine, or otherwise) and unable to take a virtual or in person exam, you will be notified by the Registrar’s office of an approved exam reschedule date.
  • If a student notifies you on the day of the exam that they are not feeling well, please direct them to Academic Achievement (academicachievement@unwsp.edu), who will work with Health Services to determine if adjustments need to be made. If needed, you will be notified by the Registrar’s office of an approved exam reschedule date.

Please also keep in mind the information shared in last week's communication regarding Anticipating Student Needs. The Online Learning Office is always available to help. 

Lecture Capture and Teaching Modalities

The Academic Continuity Team continues to gather feedback regarding the potential use of lecture capture along with hybrid and virtual teaching modalities in the 2021-2022 academic year. Faculty will have many opportunities to offer feedback, including during next Tuesday’s Faculty Meeting and again on Friday, May 7, during the Provost Coffee Hour. It is vital for us to hear your perspective on these important topics. Faculty and staff can continue to provide feedback, including comments on the Assumptions for Post-COVID Learning Environments document, through the month of May by accessing this anonymous Qualtrics link. You will see on the shared document that comments from areas other than Academic Affairs, including Student Government, have been added for consideration.

In addition to collecting your feedback, we are also taking the following steps to solicit additional information which will help inform decisions regarding the 2021-2022 academic year: 

  • We are planning to administer a student survey next week to better understand student learning experiences with our four teaching modalities (i.e., face-to-face, blended, hybrid, virtual). 
  • A subcommittee of the Academic Continuity Team is in the process of researching guidelines implemented by other institutions in utilizing face-to-face, blended, virtual, and hybrid learning modalities.

Planning for Fall

Now that we are nearing the end of spring semester, I know that many of you are looking ahead and ask questions related to fall semester. Topics such as vaccines, protocols, and accommodations are on people's minds and have been mentioned in various meetings. While details still need to be confirmed, I want to provide an update based on current information. 

Vaccines

Under the oversight of the Resurgence Analysis Team, a cross-functional group of staff and faculty members has been formed to provide information to the Senior Leadership Team on whether UNW should require or not require the COVID vaccine this fall. At this time, there is no requirement for employees or students to receive the vaccine. Because we desire to make well-informed choices and understand the implications of any decision we make for our community, I am thankful that this group is exploring this important topic, providing options for Northwestern to consider. I anticipate a decision being made and announced before the end of spring semester. 

Expectations for Protocols

Throughout the entire pandemic, we have used guidance from the CDC and MDH to inform our decisions related to mitigation strategies and protocols. Although guidelines may change, at this point we plan to continue to require masks in our classrooms, in line with the state mandate. If the state mandate changes, we will then review available guidance and make a decision on how best to proceed. 

In addition, we are planning to move our classroom distancing to 3 feet instead of 6 feet, as endorsed by MDH for the fall. Distancing for classes over the summer will remain at 6 feet.

Faculty Accommodations

Any faculty seeking an accommodation for the fall 2021 semester should reference the Faculty Accommodation and Flexible Teaching Arrangements form. If you have questions about your arrangement for the fall, please work with your Department Chair/Assistant Dean. You are also welcome to reach out to Kelly Franck, our Academic Affairs HR Business Partner, to discuss any questions you have.

Commencement Viewing Opportunity

We are excited to celebrate our spring graduates in just a couple weeks! Although faculty will not be able to attend ceremonies in the Knight Performance Hall, you are invited to join other colleagues in the socially distanced Nazareth Great Room (NGR), where light refreshments will be available. Capacity in the NGR is limited, so you will need to RSVP by Monday, May 3 indicating which ceremony/ceremonies you plan to attend. You can view the email sent by Andy Simpson with more information about commencement ceremonies, including live streaming options. Thanks in advance for supporting our graduating seniors! 

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