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Engineering update: Facts, reminders, and tips to help with contingency plans

Sunday, March 15, 2020

This message was originally sent to instructors in the Faculty of Engineering by Daniel Davison, associate dean, undergraduate studies.

Today I have received many inquires about the exceptional way that the remainder of this term will be carried out. Here are some facts, reminders, and tips that hopefully will help you satisfactorily work out your contingency plans:

  • March 14-22 is to be treated as a “scheduled pause” which means there are no academic activities and no assignments due during that week (see https://ugradcalendar.uwaterloo.ca/page/Acad-Regs-Scheduled-Pauses). The purpose of the pause is to allow the instructors to prepare and set up their contingency plans.
  • The contingency plans should be set up, with a good faith attempt to mitigate substantial difficulties students may bring to your attention, by Wed March 18.
  • The last day of lectures is still April 3. So effectively we lose one week in the term.
  • CEAB has issued a statement that no engineering program will be penalized for any impact that contingency plans have on AU counts.
  • Although there are no in-person exams this term, the exam period is still April 8-25, and if you are planning to use an on-line exam in place of an in-person exam, we strongly recommend using the 2.5 hour slot already reserved for your course. If you try to use any other slot, you are likely to have problems with time conflicts. Remember, students are taking more than just your course.
  • The university advises that instructors who are new to on-line delivery should:
    • plan to use simple and straightforward technology to minimize the learning curve
    • create a practice session in advance
    • remember to incorporate a way to deal with questions from students or discussion with students
    • talk to others in your department to find out what they are doing.
  • The university supports two methods for “live” online lectures. I personally have experience with neither, so I can't comment further.
    • WebEx – greatest capacity for larger courses, and required for any above 150 per virtual room; integrated into LEARN
    • Bongo virtual rooms – embedded in LEARN, cap of 150 per virtual room; well suited for those already using for Bongo for video assignments.
  •  Relevant university websites that are being updated regularly:
  • The university has made it possible for students who are demonstrating symptoms consistent with COVID-19 to self-declare that they are unwell. No Verification of Illness form is required for flu symptoms. (Recall we did this with the H1N1 about a decade ago.)

I suspect things will continue to evolve at a rapid pace, and I appreciate that most of us are having trouble keeping track of all the memos, missives, and emails going out.

Thanks for your patience, and best wishes with the remainder of the term,