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