On Jul 16, 2021, at 8:24 PM, Mark Richards <markrich@uw.edu> wrote:

Dear members of the UW-AAUP Executive Board,

Thank you for your communication regarding preparations for autumn quarter instruction. I understand your concerns about workload, which I will attempt to address.

On behalf of University leadership, let me begin by recognizing the significant amount of work that instructors have done over the past year-and-a-half to ensure that our students continue to receive an exceptional academic experience. Your efforts are appreciated throughout the University, from students to academic leaders to the Board of Regents.

As we approach the autumn quarter, we continue to expect that the vast majority of instruction will be in person. This past spring, we received many requests from instructors for advice on autumn course planning. The Tri-Campus Digital Learning Alliance – composed of faculty and instructional designers – drafted suggestions that were reviewed by academic leaders, including associate deans. The intent was to provide suggestions – not directives – on ways to accommodate remote learning in an existing in-person course. These suggestions do not include creating two courses, but instead incorporating evidenced-based approaches to teaching that were already designed and incorporated by many instructors prior to the pandemic.

To your question as to whether we will require students seeking a medical accommodation to go through DRS, the answer is "of course." The process will be the same as it was before the pandemic. Students requesting a medical accommodation associated with COVID or otherwise will be directed to DRS. Faculty will not be asked to address such requests. There may be some increase in the number of students seeking such accommodations as we emerge from the pandemic. However, the important thing to note is that UW’s policies and procedures regarding accommodations have not changed.

As you note, for many years UW instructors have worked with individual students in extenuating circumstances to accommodate them so they could continue their learning. I am confident this will be the case in autumn as all of us continue to put students and their learning first.

Sincerely yours,

Mark Richards