August 25, 2021 Volume 6 Issue 2

Welcome to Fall Semester!

The fall semester is officially in full swing today with the first day of classes. Today’s issue focuses on relevant resources for the start of this term, as well as a video message for faculty and staff from Dean Michael A. Elliott as we begin this exciting – and challenging – new school year. See below.

View on YouTube

Return-to-Campus Guidance and Resources

Student Support Guidebook

Emory Campus Life has developed a comprehensive resource guide for faculty and staff to help us  support students’ learning, well-being, and sense of belonging. Known as The Blue Folder Project, it  provides practical advice on how to relate and respond to a variety of concerns students may face, including academic, medical, financial, etc. It also contains information on mandatory reporting—when it is required and when it is not – as well as contact information for a plethora of programs and support services.   Bookmark it now for easy reference.

CFDE In-Person Teaching Guidance

Most of the questions Emory College faculty and instructors have about teaching in person, best practices, and health and safety measures, etc., can be found in the FAQ of current teaching protocols developed by the Center for Faculty Development and Excellence. The comprehensive document continues to be updated as new questions and protocols emerge.

Emory College Return to Campus Guidance

This PDF document features essential information, with some specificity to the College.

Emory Forward Returning to Campus

The Emory Forward site provides the latest COVID-19 guidance, policies, and protocols for the university community.

COVID-19 Event and Gathering Policy

The Emory College facilities office is reviewing all event requests in College spaces and prioritizing academic-related programming. All events must follow the university’s Covid-19 Event and Gathering Policy guidelines.

Indoor Mask Mandate

Masks are required indoors at all times and while teaching. Exceptions include if you are in an office or other space by yourself with the door closed or if you are actively drinking or eating. The University is at full occupancy, so there are no physical distancing requirements in effect.

Faculty and staff are encouraged to keep their office doors open as much as possible to create a welcoming space for students and colleagues. Please note, however, that you must mask if your door is open. Report any mask compliance challenges with faculty and staff to  ECAS_Connections@emory.edu.

Vaccinations and Testing

Vaccination Documentation

For fall semester 2021, all faculty, staff, and students are required to be fully vaccinated (defined as being two weeks past receiving both doses of a two-dose vaccine or one dose of a single-dose vaccine). Emory is tracking faculty, staff, and students vaccinated through Emory on the COVID-19 dashboard. If you received your COVID-19 vaccine outside of the Emory system, please be sure upload your vaccine card to the Emory H.O.M.E health portal . This information will ensure we have an accurate representation of our vaccinated community and put you in compliance with the vaccine requirement. 

Testing Requirements

Any employee who is not fully vaccinated is required to undergo weekly testing. Only COVID-19 screening tests administered by the Emory University program count towards compliance with the testing requirement. Disciplinary procedures are in place for non-compliance. Testing locations, and days and hours when testing is available, are found on the Emory Forward website.

Guidance for Classrooms

Recording Class Sessions

Emory College instructors are not required to record in-person courses, but it is strongly recommended. Some students may need to miss class during the semester due to COVID symptoms, quarantine, or international travel delays. Being in the practice of recording class sessions using Zoom and sharing the recordings through your course Canvas site will enhance the academic experience of students who miss class for approved reasons, as well as providing greater accessibility to all students.

 There is no expectation that students will have the same academic experience when viewing in-person classes through Zoom as they would have in the classroom, and we understand that instructors may use pedagogical techniques that might not be fully captured by Zoom recordings (holding class discussion, using the whiteboard, etc.). Lecture recordings may still be useful to students. 

 Zoom cloud recording is the preferred method for classroom lecture capture (Echo 360 is being phased out of use in Emory College). You may access instructions for Zoom cloud recording and the storage of your Zoom recordings here:

Instructors may also consider posting their notes or slides, posting photographs of the whiteboard, and/or hosting Zoom office hours to accommodate any students who are unable to attend class.

Recommended Canvas Best Practices

For in-person courses, please be sure you have published your course Canvas site no later than the first day of class. Ensure that your Canvas site includes all critical information (syllabus, class policies, access to course content, assignments and grades, Zoom recordings, and Zoom links for class and/or office hours if needed) in case you need to temporarily move the course online due to quarantine or other approved reasons.

For Canvas support, you may make an appointment with an Emory Canvas specialist.  

The Emory College Online team is available for course design consultations for hybrid and online courses and to address pedagogical questions should there be a need to temporarily move a course online.

Gathering Anonymous Student Feedback

The Emory College Council requests that all Emory College courses have a mechanism for students to provide ongoing anonymous course feedback. We have prepared an Anonymous Student Feedback template that you may adapt for your courses (access instructions for deploying the survey through Microsoft Forms/One Drive). You may embed the link to this form in your Canvas course site, and it may be left open to collect anonymous feedback throughout the semester. Any feedback collected will be visible only to the course instructor.

Call for Applications

Grantseekers’ Institute for Humanities, Social Sciences

Early-career faculty in humanities and humanistic social sciences fields university-wide are invited to apply for the Center for Faculty Development and Excellence’s Grantseekers’ Institute, a semester-long introduction to the culture and practice of external funding idea and proposal development in these fields.

The program will consist of six group sessions – two in person with a Zoom option and the other four via Zoom-- beginning in late September 2021, plus two separately scheduled one-on-one consultations for the participants with a faculty mentor selected to provide individual feedback on a proposal idea or draft. 

Space is limited. Deadline to apply is Friday, September 10. Apply Here.

Upcoming Meetings

Aug 25, 4:00 PM College Faculty Senate Meeting

Location: Jones Room, Woodruff Library or Zoom

Sep 2, 8:30 - 9:30 AM Chair/Directors Orientation Session: Faculty 180 Overview

Location: Virtual Session via Zoom

Email dean_of_faculty@emory.edu for the link.

Sep 22, 4:00 PM College Faculty Senate Meeting

Location: Jones Room, Woodruff Library or Zoom