CAMPUS NOTICE

 

ACADEMIC SENATE: SAN DIEGO DIVISION

March 2, 2010


ALL ACADEMICS AT UCSD

SUBJECT:    Possible Academic Impact of Recent Events

Dear Colleagues,

The events of the past couple of weeks have been painful for us as individuals and as a campus and have made it difficult for some students to complete normal academic requirements. Some students have even stopped attending classes and have missed class assignments and exams. Students have been inquiring about what to do in these situations, especially when they feel unsafe in returning to the campus and the classroom. While I hope that students will talk with their individual instructors and feel reassured enough to continue to attend class, this may not always be the case.

In response to these recent events, students may approach you asking to alter course requirements. While recognizing that individual instructors have control over their courses and content, I urge you to be flexible when responding to these requests and consider the following possibilities:

* Allow course requirements to be made up without penalty.

* Make changes to course assignments or establish alternate ways to satisfy course requirements.

* Consider alternatives to mandatory attendance requirements, possibly using alternate methods of instructional delivery instead (e.g., podcasts).

* A student request for an Incomplete grade. The granting of an Incomplete for good cause is always within the purview of the instructor. An Incomplete grade for a Winter Quarter course must be completed by the end of the Spring Quarter.

Please note that students who wish to withdraw from all of their Winter Quarter courses (i.e., withdraw from the quarter) MUST see their department and college academic advisors as soon as possible.

The recent events have been extraordinary, and we all want to provide every reasonable opportunity to enable the students to maintain their academic standing at UC San Diego, while maintaining a fair and equitable academic environment for all. We hope that faculty and students can return to their normal academic activities in the near future.


Sincerely,

William S. Hodgkiss, Chair
Academic Senate, San Diego Division