Dear Colleagues,
I write to announce that the temporary process announced in fall 2021 whereby a faculty member could request to teach their courses remotely based on their having an immunocompromised household member is being extended through fall quarter 2022.
In proceeding with all in-person instruction with Senate-approved online or hybrid for fall quarter, we realize now that it was not clear that we would no longer be supporting remote instruction for those instructors with an immunocompromised household member. Because it requires time and planning for these instructors to teach online or hybrid with Senate approval, we are permitting one final quarter for transition in fall 2022. Instructors (and TAs) with an immunocompromised household member may request a workplace adjustment to teach remotely in the fall by submitting documentation from the household member’s medical provider certifying that they are moderately to seriously immunocompromised such that they are at heightened risk of serious illness or death in the event of COVID infection. This documentation should not include information about specific diagnoses, and should be submitted directly to Danny Gray in APO ( dggray@ucsc.edu ), along with a note from the faculty member’s department or course sponsoring agency chair indicating whether they believe the learning outcomes of the course can be successfully achieved in a remote modality.
Fall 2022 will be the final quarter of remote instruction based on the immunocompromised status of a household member. In the subsequent quarters, instructors will be expected to teach their courses in-person or to be teaching Senate-approved online classes. Those instructors wanting to teach online should consult with the chair of their department or course sponsoring agency, and with the approval of the chair, will need to seek Senate approval for online instruction. Their proposal will be considered based on the Senate’s current criteria, which focus on pedagogy and achievement of student learning outcomes. An immunocompromised household member will not be considered as a criterion for online instruction. Please note that for winter 2023 courses, proposals are due to the course sponsoring agency chair by October 5, 2022.
Please note that instructors (and TAs) with their own disabling medical condition may continue indefinitely to seek accommodations through the reasonable accommodation process described in APM 711, where online instruction may be considered as a possible reasonable accommodation through the interactive process.
I greatly appreciate all the work that you as instructors have done throughout the pandemic, and I look forward to an engaging and productive fall quarter for us all.
Sincerely,
Lori Kletzer
Campus Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor
