Academic Continuity (Faculty Guidance)

What Will the Fall 2022 Semester Look Like?

We will continue to update this FAQ and encourage you to submit questions to Environmental Health, Safety and Risk Management.

• Can I require masks in the classroom?

  Faculty may not individually require students to mask in UAA classrooms unless or until the campus policy changes. Faculty who believe their classroom situation is unique and warrants an exception should contact their Dean. 

• Can I pick the modality of course delivery if I'm sick/concerned about COVID?

  Because students signed up for classes with expectation that the course would be delivered as described on the schedule (and because changes could negatively impact some students such as International students or those using VA benefits), no, faculty may not make such changes to a course unilaterally. If faculty need to briefly make such changes due to personal illness, they should alert their chair, who should inform the dean's office. If faculty believe they need to change a course mode of delivery permanently, they should contact their Dean.

• Can I ask a student who is coughing to leave the classroom? Or someone who is sick?

  Symptoms of COVID-19 are similar to or overlap with any number of other illnesses or medical conditions, so faculty should never assume that any student with such symptoms is COVID-19 positive. However, if someone appears to be severely ill, and/or their symptoms are disruptive to the learning environment, faculty may remind them of our general policy that we should not be on campus when ill. Faculty may ask students to step outside of the room if their symptoms are disruptive but should allow them to return when the disruptive symptoms resolve if they are temporary/due to factors not involving illness.

• What happens if I (the faculty member) am sick with COVID? Do I cancel class?

  Faculty should consult with their Dean regarding the College's regular policy around how to handle when the instructor is ill.

• What do I do if a student is immunocompromised, or has an infant who is too young to be immunized?

  A student who learned of this type of change in health status should work with Disability Support Services. If DSS requests an accommodation on behalf of a student, they will work with faculty to determine the most appropriate way to implement this.

• What is the extent to which faculty are expected to accommodate makeup work, alternate testing, and so on related to extended absences from class?

  In the spirit of our mission to transform lives in a diverse and inclusive environment, we kindly ask faculty to provide reasonable accommodations for both COVID-19 and other serious illnesses or injuries that students may experience.

• Now that the CDC has updated its guidance, what is the university doing about isolation, quarantine, etc.?

  Please see the FAQs for further guidance.