Dear Students,
Late last month we emailed you with general plans for the 2020 fall semester. We write today to provide more specific guidance that might help answer questions you may have about the academic year, your options for scheduling, and what you can expect if you take courses on campus.
Under the leadership of President Dawson and in coordination with the University of A System led by Chancellor St. John, the UAH community came together to develop a plan to create a high-quality educational experience for you, while making safety and health a priority. This plan is designed to allow you a choice between courses delivered on-campus and those delivered online or remotely. If the overall conditions related to COVID-19 change during the semester, the plan also allows our campus to adapt and continue serving you.
Instructional Methods
For fall semester, UAH will employ four general instructional methods. Regardless of instructional method, faculty have worked hard to ensure a high quality learning experience for you. The four instructional methods are as follows:
- Traditional Courses are conducted in-person, on-campus following our regular course schedules. The traditional format will typically be used for courses that are specialized, have a small number of students, or require physical presence (e.g., laboratories, studios, and clinical rotations).
- Hybrid Courses consist of a combination of traditional (face-to-face) and online instruction. In these courses, students will come to campus for approximately half of the sessions (see Blue/Silver Schedule section below), and will complete the other half of the course via remote learning. Hybrid courses comprise the majority of class offerings this fall. Hybrid courses are designated with a Y in the course schedule.
- Remote Sections are associated with a hybrid or traditional course and are designed to allow students to complete the course without coming to campus. Students are able to complete a hybrid or traditional course without coming to campus even when a fully online section is not available. These sections may require virtual attendance at the scheduled class time or utilize recorded material and assignments from the hybrid/traditional course in ways that allow students to access and learn the material remotely. Remote sections are designated with an R next to the section number in the class schedule (e.g., MKT 301 01R). Students in the colleges of Education and Nursing may not be allowed to enroll in remote or online courses and should speak with your advisors.
- Online Courses are designed from the ground up to be completed fully online. The course includes a variety of assignments, activities, recordings, and exams. There is no traditional, on-campus component. Online courses are designated with an O in the course schedule. Students in the colleges of Education and Nursing may not be allowed to enroll in remote or online courses and should speak with your advisors.
Blue/Silver On-Campus Schedule
In order to promote safety and health through social distancing, we have to reduce the number of students in a classroom at any given time and on the campus as a whole. To accomplish this goal, attendance in on-campus sessions of hybrid courses is rotated based on the last digit of a student’s A# (you can see your number listed on your Charger ID card). Students, whose last digit of their A# is 0-4, are in the BLUE group and will attend class sessions that occur on Mondays and Tuesdays. Students, whose last digit of their A# is 5-9, are in the SILVER group and will attend class sessions that occur on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
If you are in the BLUE group, you would come to campus for the Monday sessions of your Monday/Wednesday (MW) hybrid classes, and for the Tuesday sessions of your Tuesday/Thursday (TH) hybrid classes. If you are in the SILVER group, you would come for the Wednesday sessions of your MW hybrid classes, and for the Thursday sessions of your TH hybrid classes. If you are scheduled to attend a traditional course on a day that conflicts with your group designation, you should come to campus for that class period. Fridays are left open for special courses and activities, and students from either group should come to campus if their class is scheduled for that day. Students may come to campus in the evenings, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays to access academic support provided by Salmon Library, the Student Success Center and other resources which will be available both on-campus and remotely.
Course Scheduling
The course schedule for Fall 2020 has been updated to reflect the online, hybrid, traditional, and remote sections. If you have already registered for your courses, it is likely that you will not need to make changes to your schedule. Now that the schedule is updated, you may change your schedule to fit with your preference for on-campus or online courses.
Please look at your schedule to identify the format of your scheduled courses, so that you can decide whether you need to make changes. For example, if you prefer to have your courses online, and an online section is available, we encourage you to register for it. As another example, you may have signed up for a course that was originally scheduled to be taught in a traditional format, but now is being offered online. If you prefer an on-campus course, then we would encourage to register for a section if one is available. Finally, checking your schedule is useful because if you are signed up for a hybrid course, you will now be listed as being in a BLUE or a SILVER section, depending on the last digit of your A#.
Remote sections are handled differently – you are not automatically placed in them. If you are currently registered in a hybrid or traditional course, and want to take the course remotely rather than attend in person, you must register for the remote section. The remote section is designated with an “R” after the section number (e.g., the remote section for ARH 101 02 is ARH 101 02R). In some cases, registering for the remote section will put you on a waiting list, so do not drop your registration for the hybrid or traditional section until you are confirmed in the remote section. After you register for the remote section, you will be moved from the hybrid or traditional section or contacted by the instructor or department chair to verify your interest in moving to the remote section.
If you have questions about your schedule, please contact your academic advisor or college advising office. They are happy to discuss potential options for your coursework in the fall.
Fall Calendar
In a recent email, we described recent changes to the Fall 2020 calendar due to recent increases in COVID-19 cases in Alabama. To summarize:
- Fall break is eliminated.
- The two days of fall break are added to the week of Thanksgiving. There will be no classes during the week of Thanksgiving.
- On-campus instruction will end Friday, November 20. Classes will resume for a week after Thanksgiving in a fully online format.
- Final exams will be conducted fully online December 7-11.
A Successful Semester
Our entire UAH community is committed to helping you make the coming semester a successful one. In responding to these challenging times, we have developed a class schedule that allows you to learn effectively in a safe and healthy environment. Our faculty have worked diligently this summer to ensure that you will have the high-quality learning experience this fall you expect from a UAH education. In addition, all student support services will continue to be available this fall; many services, such as the Student Success Center, are available remotely for your convenience. We look forward to seeing you this fall.
Charge On!
Christine W. Curtis
Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs
