Dear Colleagues,

The halfway mark represents a significant milestone in any semester, but it feels especially momentous this fall, as we have all adjusted to a significantly more virtual world. I want to commend each of you on everything you have done to maintain stability and continuity this semester, as well as in the preceding months back to the spring. I understand in a pandemic it can feel like your efforts aren’t noticed but I want to share that across our campuses those efforts indeed are noticed by your students, colleagues, and our office.

The middle of the semester is always a good time to assess progress personally and for our students, and perhaps even more important this year given the different approaches we have all implemented in our courses. As such, I wanted to share a few resources for all instructors to utilize in their instructional plans, as an opportunity to review your and your students’ trajectory through the end of the semester.

Formative feedback
Mid-term formative feedback surveys can be a useful tool for instructors to hear anonymously from your students on course materials, lectures, assessments, and other elements of course design and delivery. We encourage all instructors to implement a mid-term formative feedback survey in their courses. These surveys can be a valuable resource to make adjustments to the second half of courses, as well as to build students’ engagement in the course and with instructors. The Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning and the Office of Institutional Research and Effectiveness offer resources to develop and distribute formative feedback surveys. In all cases, these are designed to be private (for instructors’ personal use only, not to be shared with department heads or other administrators). With the help of the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL), we’ve tried to make this process as easy as possible for you to utilize. If you are interested in utilizing formative feedback, you can begin with a resource guide prepared by CETL at https://cetl.uconn.edu/mid-semester-formative-feedback. I appreciate the support of the Senate Executive Committee and leaders in the undergraduate and graduate student senates in pulling this opportunity together.

Mid-term grades
Sharing mid-term grades with your students is another important part of reviewing student progress that can have a positive impact on your students’ participation in your class. University Senate By-Laws state that by the end of the sixth week of the semester, instructors shall submit midterm grades for students in 1000- and 2000-level courses who have earned less than a C, or U, or N grade up to that point. However, I encourage all instructors to share mid-term grades with their students in all levels in this challenging time of already high levels of uncertainty. Students and instructors are all adapting to new modes of learning this semester, and this feedback on progress will help students make adjustments and access resources as necessary to stay on track academically.

Grades can be submitted into StudentAdmin individually, as an Excel file, or directly from HuskyCT. ITS and CETL have info guides available on submitting an Excel file at this link and for submitting from HuskyCT at this link. Mid-term grades may be submitted through today, Oct. 29.

Technology requirements
Technology is more important this semester than ever. In order to ensure your equipment meets minimum requirements to operate effectively, please consult the equipment recommendations guide from ITS at https://remotework.uconn.edu/equipment-recommendations/. It includes specifications for equipment, as well as information on obtaining equipment.

Let me say again – thank you for all you are doing. It’s been a challenge but a challenge we are tackling together.

Sincerely,
Carl

Carl Lejuez
Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs

Dear Colleagues:

Several years ago, the University Senate passed a by-law change regarding final assessments in all undergraduate classes. The change enabled all faculty and instructors in our undergraduate courses to choose to use various assessment of student work, stating that final exams are no longer mandated. Many of our instructors have used other forms of assessment such as projects, shorter quizzes during the semester, papers, team based work, and other assessments in lieu of final exams. The change also eliminated the approval of the Department and of the Dean of the School or College for faculty who choose not to offer a final examination.

If you are not delivering a final exam in Fall 2020, we ask that you fill out a brief form to notify the Registrar that you are opting out. The form and instructions are available by clicking here.

Please note that we are not requesting that you give your final assessments during the last week of classes; this is prohibited by Senate By-Laws and puts an undue strain on students who are trying to attend and participate in their other courses during the last week of classes. We are asking for those who use another method of assessment (portfolios, projects, etc.) to let us know so that the room and/or time may be available for other instructors during the assessment period. It is also important that instructors recognize that due dates for these alternative forms of final assessment should not fall on days designated as reading days. As always, all due dates should be indicated on the syllabus at the beginning of the semester.

Thank you,
Carl

Carl W. Lejuez, PhD
Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs

To:	Deans
From:	Carl W. Lejuez, Ph.D. Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs
RE:	FY22 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, 2021.

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, 2021 and June 1, 2021. 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 5, 2021.
• 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 (copy Vice Provost) no later than July 1, 2021. 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 23, 2021. 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, 2021. 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, 2021.

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.

The following message is sent on behalf of Carl Lejuez, Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs; Scott Jordan, Executive Vice President for Administration and Chief Financial Officer; and Chris Delello, Associate Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer.

Please note that this guidance applies to UConn Storrs and the regional campuses only.  Due to the clinical needs at UConn Health, employees working for or assigned to UConn Health should continue to work with their managers on telecommuting requests.

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Dear Colleagues,

As we round the mid-point of the fall 2020 academic semester, we write to you about two important issues: extending UConn’s work-from-home practices into 2021, and the importance of remaining vigilant in protecting your health, and that of others, as the pandemic stretches on.

Right now, a substantial number of our professional staff are working remotely, with the agreement of their supervisor, as we do all we can to limit density on our campuses. The University previously communicated that this practice would continue for these employees at least through the end of the calendar year.

Today we are confirming that staff who are working remotely should plan on continuing to do so through the spring semester, pending some change in the status of the virus and the tools we have to combat it.

The university arrived at this decision based on a few factors: the continued prevalence of the virus in our state, which has risen as of late; uncertainty regarding the future, including the potential for COVID-19’s continued spread; and the availability of a vaccine.

For faculty, teaching and research activities will largely determine your need for on-campus presence. The same general principles apply for preserving density and protecting the health of yourself and others: Wear a mask in common and public areas; maintain social distance; and work that does not require your physical presence on campus should be conducted remotely when possible.

It is clear that we will not be able to return to normal as a workplace until circumstances and public health guidance change to a level where the University believes that we can return to working on-site on a large scale. As always, we will adjust to the state of the pandemic and will explore different options, including employees potentially returning at different times depending on certain factors, such as vaccinations. We will have more updates and are committed to keeping you informed as we know more, and will work to give you as much advance notice as possible to help your planning should circumstances change.

The existing caveats for staff working remotely will all continue to apply: While some employees must be on site to do their work, others can effectively work from home. Where an employee works is subject to an agreement between each individual employee and their reporting organization. In general, no employee is barred from coming to campus if necessary, but no one should be coming to campus on a regular basis if they are not on the Human Resources registry.

Every employee (staff, faculty, and graduate students) who works on campus full time, part time, or rotationally must be on the Human Resources registry and should take a COVID test, some more than once. For additional information regarding working remotely, click here. The Office of Human Resources will be issuing Spring Semester Registry and testing information by the end of the month as a follow-up to this message.

In Connecticut, the pandemic is approximately in its seventh month and it is not surprising that a certain fatigue can set in. No doubt some have slowly begun to relax the precautions we have been practicing to help keep ourselves and others healthy. But as a community that cares for each other, we must remain vigilant. Though infection rates among employees have remained very low, we have seen a recent uptick. The virus is as present and potentially as deadly today as it was in March, April and May. And it will continue to be in the months ahead.

We urge you to do the simplest and best things: wear masks, stay distant from others outside of your family unit, wash your hands, and don’t take any needless risks. Nothing is more important than your health and our community’s health – please do all you can to protect it. Thank you for your continued support of these efforts.

Sincerely,

Scott Jordan
Executive Vice President for Administration and Chief Financial Officer

Carl Lejuez
Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs

Chris Delello
Associate Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer

 

To the UConn Community:

Since 1937, the United States has observed Columbus Day as a federal holiday on the second Monday of October. With greater willingness to understand and acknowledge the colonial impact on the inhabitants of the Americas prior to Columbus, there has been a growing effort to recognize this day as Indigenous Peoples Day. UConn is among those using this day, and the whole week, as an opportunity to bring attention and understanding to the legacy, culture, and history of Indigenous people.

The very name of the state of Connecticut derives from the Mohegan word Quinnitukqut, meaning “long, tidal river.” Connecticut is home to numerous Indigenous communities, including but not limited to the Mohegan, Mashantucket Pequot, Eastern Pequot, Schaghticoke, Golden Hill Paugussett and Nipmuc Peoples. In recognizing their continued existence and claim to this land, we seek to strengthen our relationship with these neighbors and join with towns, cities, and universities across the United States in acknowledging their contributions, past and present, to the health and vitality of our shared communities.

We are fortunate to have dynamic cultural centers and programs at UConn that host exceptional programming. UConn’s Native American Cultural Programs and the Native American and Indigenous Students Association are hosting a week of events that we encourage all in our community to attend as both educational enhancement and a celebration of the cultures and histories of Indigenous peoples, on our campuses and beyond.

Sincerely,
Carl and Frank

Carl Lejuez
Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs

Franklin Tuitt
Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer

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Indigenous Peoples’ Week Schedule of Events
Sponsored and Organized by the Native American Cultural Programs (NACP) office and the Native American and Indigenous Students Association (NAISA)

Full event details are available on the Native American Cultural Programs website: nacp.uconn.edu/indigenous-peoples-week-2.

 

Monday, Oct. 12—Indigenous Peoples’ Day

Video Release: “Indigenous At UConn #WeAreStillHere”

• Featuring some of UConn’s Indigenous faculty, staff, and students speaking about their experiences being Indigenous at UConn and sharing what being Indigenous means to them.

“THIS LAND: Quinektikut Blanket Exercise” 3:30 p.m. via Zoom

• Facilitated by Akomawt Educational Initiative and co-sponsored by UConn Collaborative Organizing (UCCO) and Fridays For Future (FFF)
• Part 1 of a multipart initiative entitled “THIS LAND: A Decolonization and Discussion Exercise.” The Blanket Exercise is an interactive and experiential learning activity that guides participants through themes of land dispossession, culturally genocidal policies and the effects of colonialism through culturally grounded and respectful methods.

Tuesday, Oct. 13

Keynote Speaker: Dyami Thomas, 4 p.m. via Zoom

• Dyami Thomas (Ojibwe/Klamath) will share stories, tips, and self-affirmation exercises that will teach the importance of self-care, genuine self-love, self-respect, and a renewed reflection on life. The topics covered will be suicide prevention, self-motivation, cultural identity, youth dating violence, domestic violence, and health and wellness. Three prizes will be raffled off for those who RSVP to NACP’s online event page for Dyami Thomas and attend the talk.

Film Screening and Discussion: “Awake! A Dream from Standing Rock” 7 p.m. via Zoom

• A virtual film screening of the #NoDAPL documentary, “Awake!,” followed by a discussion facilitated by Kaylee Jangula Mootz.

Wednesday, Oct. 14

Panel: #NotYourMascot – CT Indian Mascots and Why They Must Go 5:30 p.m. via Zoom

• Featuring Dr. Stephanie Fryberg (U of Michigan), Dr. Barb Gurr, and Dr. Glenn Mitoma
• Panelists speak about the current status of the fight against CT Indian mascots, as well as the psychological costs of Indian mascots on students and community members, Native and non-Native alike. Discussion will be led by NACP student workers Sage Phillips and Zoe Blevins and members of the state-wide coalition to ban Native mascots.

Thursday, Oct. 15

Film Screening and Discussion: “Retablo” 5 p.m. via Zoom

• In collaboration with PRLACC and the Rainbow Center
• This film follows character Segundo, a young boy from rural Peru, as his father trains him in the family tradition of designing and building religious retablos. But a secret may shatter Segundo’s world and everything he believes in. Includes LGBTQ and mental health related themes.

Friday, Oct. 16

Listening Event: “This is What Indigenous Looks Like” 12:30 p.m. via Zoom

• NAISA members share their experiences being Indigenous at UConn.

Dear UConn Community,

I am writing to share two important decisions that were approved by the University Senate yesterday that affect academics for the spring semester as part of UConn’s COVID-19 preparation and response measures.

Spring Calendar

The University Senate approved modifications to the spring academic calendar that will keep the start date as previously planned, but move spring break later in the semester and add two reading days to the calendar.

• Jan. 19, 2021 – First day of spring semester classes
• Jan. 19-31, 2021 – All courses delivered remotely regardless of assigned modality*
• April 11 – 17, 2021 – Spring break
• April 19, 2021 – Spring classes resume (remote modality for all courses)
• April 29 – May 2, 2021 – Reading days (no classes or assessments)
• May 3 – 8, 2021 – Final Assessments (remote modality for all courses)

Now that the Senate has approved these changes, the Provost’s Office is evaluating the instructional modality for the start and end of the spring semester. We are having conversations with a wide range of constituencies including deans and leadership from Senate, USG, and several unions, and we will share those collaborative decisions by week’s end.

*This decision was made in a follow-up communication. Click here to read the memo with further updates.

Pass/Fail

For the 2020-21 academic year only, the University Senate approved an extension of the deadlines to add or remove courses as pass/fail and also extended pass/fail availability to undergraduate students with fewer than 26 credits and students on scholastic probation.

• Nov. 20, 2020* – Deadline to add or remove fall 2020 courses as pass/fail
• April 9, 2021* – Deadline to add or remove spring 2021 courses as pass/fail

*These deadlines were extended to Dec. 28, 2020, and May 14, 2021. Click here to read the memo with these updates. 

Undergraduate students may elect a maximum of 12 credits to be distributed over no more than three courses during their entire academic career (note: courses from spring 2020 do not count toward the 12-credit maximum). Changes to add pass/fail grading will require the approval of an advisor (with signature). It also applies only to elective courses, and schools and colleges retain the option to place further restrictions on pass/fail for their majors and minors. Students may refer to the University Catalog for existing school and college-level pass/fail restrictions.

The Graduate Faculty Council has jurisdiction over academic regulations affecting graduate students, and the existing bylaws apply. Pass/fail is not available to graduate students.

Next Steps

As we near the start of registration for the spring semester, we have been releasing a number of decisions recently. As noted above, we are now able to share a more comprehensive academic communication at the end of the week with a summary of all we know about the spring as a resource to our students, staff, and faculty.

I am grateful to the thoughtful and hard-working members of the Senate Scholastic Standards Committee who pulled together these proposals, the leadership of USG who provided a strong voice for students throughout the process, and of course our senators who considered these issues from the perspectives of faculty, students, and staff. These decisions were discussed and revised through several iterations to meet a balance of continued academic rigor, community safety, and individual well-being. The full text of these two decisions, as well as other recent decisions, can be found at senate.uconn.edu.

Sincerely,
Carl

Carl Lejuez
Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs

Dear UConn Staff:

The Office of the Provost and the Department of Human Resources are pleased to invite you to attend the upcoming Admin Forum.

The Provost’s Office started the Admin Forum to keep staff informed and to recognize, encourage, and support staff through a high level of collaboration and feedback. In partnership with Human Resources, we intend to continue the tradition of providing this space and expanding it so that all staff at UConn can benefit.

We will be hosting an Admin Forum, open to all staff at UConn, via WebEx on October 22, 2020, from 10:00 – 11:30 a.m. We plan to dedicate a substantial part of the event to a town hall-style discussion to share updates from the administration and hear from all of you as we navigate a unique semester, with many of us working remotely. Please complete the RSVP form linked here, and let us know if there are topics you would like us to address.

Meeting Information

Check the Office of the Provost’s website for additional information.

October 22, 2020

10:00 – 11:30 a.m.

Join via WebEx at this link

Join by Phone: 1-415-655-0002

Meeting Number (Access Code): 120 318 6200

We hope you are all safe and in good health and we look forward to seeing you at the upcoming Admin Forum!

Sincerely,
Carl and Chris

Carl Lejuez
Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs

Christopher Delello
Chief Human Resources Officer