To Our Faculty:
We write today to update you regarding how Case Western Reserve will adapt to omicron’s impact in the first weeks of the new year. Spring semester will begin on time with students on campus and in residence halls. The schedule for students’ return to campus housing remains the same.
Given the uncertainty about the number of COVID-19 cases in our community, most instruction will be delivered remotely for the first two weeks to minimize classroom disruption, allow faculty to prepare their course delivery, and provide an equitable experience for our students.
That said, some courses—such as those involving lab work, clinical experiences, and performance—are likely to remain in person. If you are scheduled to teach such a course, please work with your chair/dean to request an exception. Provost Vinson will need to approve all exceptions.
For faculty who teach professional and graduate students, your dean will provide guidance to you for delivery of courses, labs, clinical experiences and performances.
To assist you, [U]Tech is updating its information regarding remote teaching, preparing a formal guide for this semester, and offering online seminars during the first week of January. We will provide details on all of these activities once they are final.
Finally, in-person research activities will continue throughout this period.
By now you are well familiar with the booster requirement we announced last week. In addition, you will be required to take a COVID-19 test each week for two weeks, wear masks indoors, and refrain from social gatherings for at least two weeks.
We have posted a Spring Semester FAQ page, and will update it next week as additional information becomes available.
Unless infection rates remain exceptionally high, remote teaching for in-person classes should not extend beyond the first two weeks of the semester, and our hope is that testing and other data will allow an even earlier return to in-person classes.
Thank you for everything you do for our students—and for Case Western Reserve.
Eric W. Kaler
President
Ben Vinson III
Provost