Colleagues,
As a follow up to Dr. Cooper's message yesterday, I wanted to take a moment and thank you on a job well done and provide you with some updates about our fall planning. First, let me share a summary of the work you all did. In a two week period of time, a total of 989 courses were converted from traditional face-to-face instruction to remote learning. These include 783 traditional classes, 130 lab & skills classes, and 76 regional blended classes. Beyond class and lab instruction, 153 field placement courses that had over 1,000 students enrolled were modified or addressed in some manner. In total, over 450 faculty members both full and part-time completed this work. Thank you for all you did on behalf of our students.
Planning is ongoing for the Fall 2020 semester. As we contemplate instruction for 2020-2021, the safety of the community is paramount, as is a high-quality academic experience that is a hallmark of a Springfield College education. With new guidance coming out this week from Governor Baker, the College is developing plans that will follow both state and federal health guidelines. Many scenarios are now under investigation that will allow us to meet these guidelines. At this point, it is not possible to make firm decisions. Throughout the summer regular communications will be shared by Dr. Cooper, myself, and other Vice-Presidents as plans are solidified. Please continue to monitor your email and the College website for updates.
As you think ahead and plan for your fall courses, I ask that you recognize the difficulties ahead of us. We don’t know exactly what this next academic year will bring, but we do know that it will be different and that being prepared to teach remotely will allow us to better address the challenges and disruptions we will face in the coming months. Each faculty member should work to develop remote learning strategies that deliver course content in our usual high-quality high-interaction Springfield College way and should plan for an academic year that may include in-person, remote, or blended models of instruction. We know this will require great efforts from each of you over the summer months. The Center for Excellence in Teaching, Learning, and Scholarship will be in contact with you to assist in this task and to provide resources and professional development opportunities throughout the summer. We recently sent a survey to students to collect feedback on their experiences with remote learning this spring. The Center will also be sending out a survey to all faculty. We plan on sharing this information with all of you so that we can learn from one another and our students. I am confident that Springfield College will continue to offer a high-quality education throughout these uncertain times and that we will all emerge stronger in our new normal.
Again, thank you for your efforts this spring and coming summer, as we prepare for Fall 2020.
Martha
Martha A. Potvin | Provost & Vice President for Academic Affairs
