Dear Faculty:

We are facing an unprecedented public health situation with the repercussions of the COVID-19 virus and its effect on our communities. Thank you for remaining flexible and accommodating during this time.

In response to the City of Houston and Harris County emergency health declarations, and to do our part in mitigating the spread of COVID-19, the University of Houston will immediately cease all face-to-face instructional activities (i.e. lectures, seminars, discussions or presentations) and deliver all of our classes remotely using online and/or virtual learning platforms, at least until April 4. 

In order to ensure a smooth transition to online delivery, we have instituted a one week pause in all instructional activities beginning Monday, March 16, including existing online classes. During that week, we must ensure that our students are aware of the implications of this transition and prepared to take classes remotely beginning Monday, March 23.

Monday, March 16 – Saturday, March 21
We ask that you do the following during this week: 

• Monday, March 16 – Please initiate regular communication with your students through Blackboard or Courseware class shell and via email. Inform your students that there will be a one week pause in all class activities, including all tests, exams, and assignments due during the week of Monday, March 16 through Saturday, March 21. CASA will also be closed March 16 – March 21. A decision will be made at that time regarding CASA’s further operations.

• Tuesday, March 17 - Saturday, March 21 – Modify your class curriculum to reflect how you will deliver the remainder of your class content using either asynchronous instruction (i.e. online presentations, discussion boards, reading assignments, etc.) or synchronous instruction (i.e. virtual face-to-face sessions using Blackboard Collaborate, Microsoft Teams, etc.). Ensure that any additional online tools to deliver your class content are enabled and that instructions for their use by students are available within your Blackboard or Courseware class shell. Students must be informed of these curricular changes by posting of your updated curriculum to your class shell no later than noon on Friday, March 20.  

Additional information and resources for faculty instructors, including registration details for upcoming online help sessions, quick tutorials, and additional resources for Blackboard and other tools can be found at instruction.uh.edu and uh.edu/fdis.

Monday, March 23 - Saturday, April 4
All classes previously taught face-to-face will resume online through Blackboard or Courseware. Students will not be on campus for instruction. Information and additional resources for faculty instructors using Blackboard and other related online tools will remain available throughout the period of remote operations, and can be found at instruction.uh.edu and uh.edu/fdis.

Additional Considerations

With department chair approval, faculty members who are most vulnerable or at high risk of contracting COVID-19 will be allowed to continue providing instruction online through the end of the spring semester.

Guidance on how faculty members can gain access to research laboratories can be found here. Please contact the Division of Research if any you have any additional questions concerning research operations.   

I am committed to keeping you regularly updated of any changes to our schedule concerning remote operations, or any broader city or county developments that may impact the health and well-being of our faculty, students, and staff.  As we work through these extraordinary circumstances, I know you will work to deliver a high quality education to our students regardless of the format. I deeply appreciate your willingness to work with me as we navigate this situation together.
 

Warm regards,

Paula Myrick Short
Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, UH System
Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, UH
provost@uh.edu | 832-842-0550

This is an official message sent by the University of Houston. To verify the validity of this message, email security@uh.edu.