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Reminder of Accommodations for Religious Observance and Extra-Curriculars

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Dear Colleagues,

This message is to remind you of the University’s policy regarding religious accommodations for faculty, staff, and students, in particular how this policy applies in academic activities. I am also sharing guidance on reasonable accommodations for participation in certain extra-curricular activities.

Religious Observance

Faculty and instructors are expected to reasonably accommodate individual religious practices unless doing so would result in fundamental alteration of class objectives or undue hardship to the University’s legitimate business purposes. Such accommodations may include rescheduling an exam or giving a make-up exam, allowing a presentation to be made on a different date or assigning the student appropriate make-up work that is intrinsically no more difficult than the original assignment.

The full policy may be found at this link.

Your adherence to this policy is an important aspect in supporting our University’s commitment to building and maintaining a welcoming and inclusive learning and work environment.

Extra-Curricular Activities

Faculty and instructors are strongly encouraged to allow students to complete work missed due to participation in extra-curricular activities that enrich their experience, support their scholarly development, and benefit the University community. Examples include participation in scholarly presentations, performing arts, and intercollegiate sports, when the participation is at the request of, or coordinated by, a University official. Faculty and instructors are also encouraged to respond when the Student-Athlete Success Program requests student progress reports. This will enable the counselors to give our students appropriate advice.

In both cases, for conflicts with final examinations, students should contact the Dean of Students Office. Students should be encouraged to review the course syllabus at the beginning of the semester for potential conflicts and promptly notify their instructor of any anticipated accommodation needs. Students are responsible for making arrangements in advance to make up missed work.

Thank you for your attention to this reminder.

Sincerely,
Jeffrey

Jeffrey Shoulson
Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs

Guidance and Reminders for Fall 2021

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This message is being sent to all deans, associate deans, and department heads.

 

Dear Colleagues,

Monday marks the first day of our new academic year and a significant milestone in our progression through the pandemic, as we resume mostly in-person classes. I know this event brings with it both anticipation and anxiety. As associate deans and department heads, you are in critical positions and I want to make sure you’re aware of our plans and resources designed to ensure as safe a return to our campuses as possible.

The University continues to follow the best, most reliable advice we have available to us, which includes regular consultations with infectious disease experts and epidemiologists at UConn Health and ongoing coordination with state officials. You can be sure that the University’s COVID-planning leaders, UConn Health experts, and state officials are very much aware of the changing conditions created by the Delta variant and any potential effects on guidance. Further, our plan is in full compliance with existing local and federal guidance.

I encourage you to review the message our office sent last week on returning to in-person academics and our academic FAQs. Both address a number of questions and scenarios of interest to academic operations.

The message and FAQs include information on key topics such as the mitigation strategies we already have in place. These strategies include required vaccinations for all employees and students, required masking for all, refreshed and improved ventilation systems in all our classrooms, surveillance testing, and ongoing waste-water testing at the Storrs campus to catch any potential outbreaks early. We are heartened by the fact that during all of last year there were no documented cases of transmission via the classroom and we’re drawing upon what we’ve learned from that experience for this year, as well. No plan can mitigate all risks, and I understand the concerns some in our community have, but we have enacted an approach that is among the most conservative of our peer universities.

Contact tracing and testing will continue to be handled through a combination of Student Affairs, Human Resources, the Department of Public Health, and other health care partners. To be clear, instructors have no responsibility for contact tracing and the classroom is unlikely to be considered a site of transmission. This is because of these mitigation factors including required masking, high vaccination rates, surveillance testing, and enhanced ventilation. Additional details on contact tracing can be found in the FAQ page mentioned above under “COVID Exposure.”  Guidance on how the contact tracing process works in the State of Connecticut can be found at: https://portal.ct.gov/coronavirus/contact.

We have received questions about our ability and willingness to adjust to changing health conditions through the semester. I want to reassure everyone that we are constantly monitoring conditions and guidance, and have put plans in place to address a wide range of scenarios. The EPG (Executive Policy Group) has mapped out a variety of options that include the possibility of shifting fully to online (either short term or for the duration of the semester) and they will be monitoring various factors, including (but not limited to) rates of infection in the surrounding communities, state, and region; occupancy rates for our isolation beds; and other data points. We are fortunate to live and work in a region where infection rates continue to be significantly lower than elsewhere in the country and vaccination rates significantly higher, however, we remain vigilant and prepared should we need to change course.

We will continue to share updates in the coming weeks addressing additional aspects of the return to in-person instruction, as the situation demands. At the same time, we will seek to strike the right balance between providing sufficient information and guidance and not overwhelming you with information (which can have the effect of making people pay less attention to the messages we do send). We also will utilize some of the Associate Dean and Department Head meeting the second week of the semester to discuss the current status of our re-entry and can take any questions and/or suggestions. We also encourage you to reach out directly any time as is useful.

Sincerely,
Carl

Carl Lejuez
Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs

FY23 Provost Fund Guidance

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Please review the Guidelines on FY23 Collective Bargaining Increases for Members of the AAUP Bargaining Unit, issued on May 27, 2022. Dates and process language have been revised as in accordance with the collective bargaining agreement.

To:            Deans
From:       Carl W. Lejuez, Ph.D., Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs
RE:           FY23 Provost Fund Guidance

The “Provost Fund”[1] is a program that identifies a pool of university resources to be used for faculty salary increases for the purposes of retention, compression and inversion equity, and special achievement. The University may consider requests for salary adjustments for these categories according to the processes outlined below, which are broken down into two distinct phases.

Phase I – Retention

Definition: Retention increases aim to support the University’s efforts to retain exceptional, highly productive faculty from considering external offers from competing institutions. The Provost will consider pre-emptive retention requests in cases where there is evidence a faculty member is considering external opportunities.

Process:

  • The Provost will consider retention requests from the Deans throughout the academic year, as the urgent nature of these requests require a timely response from the University.
  • Faculty may request a retention increase by emailing their Department Head (copy Dean or designee) directly. This request should include any relevant supporting documentation (i.e. evidence of recruitment, request to interview, or offer letter from competing institution).
  • The Department Head must review the request directly with the Dean in a timely manner.
  • If the Dean intends to retain the faculty member, he or she will bring the request directly to the Provost (copy Vice Provost) with a requested increase amount and funding arrangement. If the Dean does not intend to retain the faculty member, he or she will notify the Department Head and faculty member of the decision at that time via email.
  • The Provost will evaluate retention requests from the Dean immediately. If the retention increase is approved by the Provost, the faculty member will receive a retention letter from the Dean memorializing the details of the arrangement, which will go into effect August 23, 2022.

Phase II – Equity and Special Achievement

Definition:

Compression/Inversion Equity: Salary compression occurs when a competitive market urges hiring managers to bring new faculty in at higher salaries than in previous years, which may compress the difference in salary between ranks. Salary inversion refers to the situation in which faculty members in lower ranks earn more than colleagues in higher ranks. These patterns may be more generally referred to as inequity due to “compression/inversion.”

Special Achievement: Special achievement may be awarded in situations in which a faculty member has received a significant external acknowledgement such as a major prize or award.

Process:

  • The Provost will consider compression/inversion equity and special achievement requests at the end of the academic year, as these requests are typically reviewed in parallel with the annual review and merit process (if applicable).
  • Faculty may request a salary adjustment for compression/inversion or special achievement by emailing their Department Head (copy Dean or designee) between April 1, 2022 and June 1, 2022. This request should include any relevant supporting documentation (i.e. evidence of compression/inversion or major prize/award).
  • The Department Head must review the request directly with the Dean or designee no later than June 6, 2022.
  • The Dean will compile all faculty requests along with Department Head or Associate Dean recommendations. The Dean will submit his or her own recommendations to the Provost (via provost@uconn.edu) no later than July 1, 2022. If the Dean does not intend to forward a faculty member’s request to the Provost for review, he or she will notify the Department Head and faculty member of the decision at that time via email.
  • The Provost will evaluate compression/inversion and special achievement requests from the deans by July 22, 2022. If a compression/inversion adjustment or special achievement award is approved by the Provost, the faculty member will receive a letter from the University indicating the increase amount and new salary no later than August 15, 2022. If the Provost does not approve a recommendation from the Dean, the Dean will notify the Department Head and faculty member of the decision at that time via email.
  • All salary increases go into effect August 23, 2022.

Cc:          Christopher Delello, Chief Human Resources Officer

Karen Buffkin, Executive Director of Employee Relations, Labor and Employment Attorney

[1] Contingent upon reaching an agreement on a successor collective bargaining agreement that includes such provision in effect on or after July 1, 2022.

Booking University Travel – Guidance and Reminders

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Dear colleagues,

We are writing today with some reminders related to University travel that are of particular importance as we face continued disruption from the COVID-19 pandemic. Failure to follow appropriate policies and procedures related to University travel may result in unreimbursed out-of-pocket expenses for individuals. We hope that the following guidance can ensure all faculty and staff avoid such situations.

  • Pre-approval: All work travel by University employees, students, and guests must be pre-approved prior to travel. University employees are required to submit their Travel Request for pre-approval in Concur. Pre-submission of travel requests in Concur also allows the University to offer support in the event of an emergency. Failure to obtain pre-approval of travel will result in non-reimbursement of travel expenditures.
  • Travel agent: We strongly recommend that all University travel is booked through our travel agent, Anthony Travel, using the University-sponsored T-card. Anthony Travel has a dedicated UConn agent. Travel can also be booked online within the Concur system where you can search for flights similar to the Expedia application.
    • If you book travel independently and have to cancel this travel, you will be responsible for any resulting costs that will not be reimbursed by the University. For instance, if you book a non-refundable flight on Expedia and then have to cancel this travel due to the pandemic, you will not be reimbursed for the ticket. Anthony Travel will support any cancellation or postponement of travel that they have booked, including obtaining credits for the unused tickets. There are no booking fees or agent fees charged back to the department when using Anthony Travel.
  • Driving: If you are choosing to drive instead of fly, please review section 3a of the Travel Policy. Costs for ground travel above the lowest reasonable commercial fare for your trip typically will not be reimbursed. If choosing road or rental car over air travel, please email travel@uconn.edu to discuss strategies for best supporting your trip.

If you have questions about your travel and need any support in finding the best way to travel to meet your needs, please reach out to travel@uconn.edu. The Travel Services staff are always happy to help. You can also find the FAQs on UConn domestic travel reopening here.

Sincerely,

Lloyd Blanchard
Interim Vice President for Finance and Chief Financial Officer

Jeffrey Shoulson
Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs

Provost’s Message: Returning to In-Person Academics

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Dear Colleagues,

As we approach the start of the fall semester, I am sharing details on several items related to the classroom and other academic activities. Some of you have been on our campuses regularly over the past year and a half, while many others are beginning to make your first return back to your offices or classrooms in many months. This message provides information on a variety of resources and guidance to prepare for the start of this new academic year. I also encourage you to visit the University’s COVID website, to find information on our plans in one location, at covid.uconn.edu. Additionally, the Provost’s Office maintains a set of academic-related FAQs on our website.

I understand that our community is experiencing a mix of emotions as the first day of classes draws near. Our plans for the fall are intended to allow as much of a return to in-person operations as possible while still prioritizing the health and safety of our community. This includes keeping close watch of new developments such as the spread of the Delta variant. This is a true community effort, as multiple offices and teams have led our planning and preparations to come together again on our campuses.

At the same time as many of you are preparing for a return to our campuses, you’re also continuing to manage the complications of caregiving, family, and community responsibilities amid COVID. Self-care and compassion for others in this challenging time will be crucial to our success as we all navigate our return to in-person operations over the coming months.

Sincerely,
Carl

Carl Lejuez
Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs

Fall 2021 Guidance and Resource Highlights

Classrooms and In-Person Teaching

  • Masking: Masks are required in most indoor scenarios on campus, including the classroom, until further notice. The most up-to-date information on mask requirements across University settings can be found by visiting the UConn COVID website.
  • Distancing: We shared earlier this summer that classrooms would return to full capacity with the removal of distancing requirements. The most up-to-date information on distinctions in distancing across University settings can be found by visiting the UConn COVID website. We will continue to monitor the status of COVID-19 and guidance from the state regarding distancing throughout the semester.
  • Ventilation in classrooms: Facilities Operations has been performing a number of strategies to improve ventilation in spaces, particularly in classrooms. Guidance for re-opening over the last year has focused on increasing ventilation rates, enhancing filtration, and increasing the percentage of outdoor air that circulates where possible. Please review their full report by clicking here.
  • Instructional modality: For Fall 2021, about 90% of classes are listed with an in-person modality. This includes lectures, discussions, labs, seminars, and hybrid courses. It does not include independent studies, field placements, practicums, etc. It also includes undergraduate and graduate courses, and all regional campuses.

    Aside from an ADA accommodation, the only instances in which classes may be taught in an online modality are based on sound pedagogy and the best interests of academic programming. With the semester set to begin shortly, additional changes based on pedagogical and academic programming reasons will be extremely limited and will require department head and dean approval.

    • Teaching assistants: Whether they serve as instructors of record or as leaders of a discussion or laboratory section, teaching assistants are expected to offer instruction in the modality for which a course was scheduled. Any change in teaching modality requires approval of the relevant department head and dean.
  • Classroom technology: IT provides a wide array of guidance on classroom technology in its Knowledge Base. These can be viewed here: https://confluence.uconn.edu/ikb/teaching-and-learning. In particular, you may want to bookmark the Classroom Quick Start Guide, https://s.uconn.edu/startclass.

    Instructors can request training on classroom and instructional technology from IT staff. Please click this link to be directed to the request form (requires NetID login).

  • Classroom and quarantine management: Throughout the last year, our office provided guidance in our FAQs on how to set expectations of behavior in your classrooms, managing accommodations for students in quarantine, and a host of other academic scenarios affected by COVID-19. Please click here to view our FAQS.

Other Academic Considerations

  • Travel: Travel Services has shared a number of updates regarding work-related travel. Please see their website, travel.uconn.edu, for the latest information. In addition to guidance from Travel Services, Human Resources has provided guidance on returning to campus post-travel.

    Employee personal travel follows guidance issued by the State of Connecticut. Visit their website for the latest guidance and restrictions at portal.ct.gov/Coronavirus/Travel.

  • Field trips: There are no formal restrictions on domestic travel out of state. However, all faculty or instructors planning field trips should work with their department head and dean to assess potential COVID-related risks associated with their field trip. Guidance may also change throughout the semester, so faculty or instructors planning such trips should ensure they are following updated travel guidelines if these change at the State or University level.
  • Library Services: The Library is working to complete some projects that will both welcome our community back in a safe and welcoming manner, as well as increase the discoverability of resources. Changes have been made to platforms that access collections, including databases and the extension of electronic access to course reserves to the degree possible. Click here to learn more.
  • Events and Meeting Scheduling: Units will be permitted to host outside guests and speakers, subject to University public health restrictions. Because conditions can change quickly, any invitation to outside speakers should include a strong indication that changes or cancellation may be required if conditions worsen again. Please consult the latest UConn Campus Visitor Guidance for more information on hosting guests and events by clicking here.

    When scheduling events and meetings, consider how the time and format may affect the accessibility for potential attendees. For instance, an in-person event at 4 p.m. meant to appeal to junior colleagues may conflict with pick-up times from school or day care, and may be better suited to a different time and a virtual format.

  • Incident Reporting: The InForm website is a tool to help the UConn community navigate the reporting process and support available for a variety of incidents including bias, harassment, safety concerns, and other types of misconduct. InForm is available to anyone coming into contact with UConn, including students, faculty, staff, visitors, and community members who have a concern to report, including bystanders.
  • Syllabi: CETL has created a portal for faculty and instructors to upload their syllabi for students to review before starting classes. We encourage all faculty and instructors to upload your syllabi here as soon as they are available. Please click here to get started.
  • SET feedback: The Provost’s Office had for several years sent letters to faculty and instructors with feedback on high or low SET scores. After consultation with deans, the Faculty Standards Committee of the University Senate, and the AAUP, we have decided to no longer distribute these letters. SET scores will continue to be collected and shared; however, we heard growing concerns that these letters elevated the importance of SETs beyond their intended purpose. SET scores should be considered one of a set of measures to evaluate successful teaching. We appreciate the work being done in the classroom to support our academic mission and we will continue to find other ways to acknowledge our many examples of outstanding teaching and support continuous improvement in our educational mission.

    Campus Operations

    • COVID-19 testing: The University will offer testing for employees. The details are still being established and more information is forthcoming.
    • Training: Environmental Health and Safety has updated its COVID-19 safety training for this academic year. Please visit this link to access the training on the EHS website.
    • Tech check: ITS encourages faculty and staff to return early to test their on-site setups and notify ITS staff of any issues or equipment deficiencies. On and after Aug. 16, ITS will operate using a tiered approach that will allow their staff to efficiently serve as many people as possible with available resources.
      • If additional support is needed, faculty and staff are encouraged to request assistance remotely first, by submitting a support ticket through techsupport.uconn.edu. If issues remain unresolved at this point, ITS staff will schedule a time to assist you in-person.
    • Future of Work and Future of Learning reports: These two committees have produced reports with an overview of their recommendations. You may view the Future of Work report at this link, and the Future of Learning report at this link.
    • Cleaning and disinfection: Facilities Operations will follow guidance and best practices from the CDC. For more information, please click here to see a detailed update from Environmental Health and Safety.
    • Signage: University Communications has updated signage to reflect UConn’s restrictions and guidance in place for Fall 2021 as it relates to COVID-19 protocols. Many of these signs will be placed in university buildings by Facilities Operations; however, these are also available for departmental and office use. Please click here to view and download this signage.