August 17, 2021 Minutes

Council of Department Chairs

In attendance: Curtis Bennett, Barbara Taylor, Margaret Karteron, Henry Wu, Maryanne Horton, Andreas Bill, Dessie Underwood, Kris Slowinski, Will Murray, Babette Benken, Allie Puz, Lijuan Li, Lisa Martin, Chris Frost, David Goulet, Nate Onderdonk.     

NOTE: THESE MINUTES REFLECT DISCUSSIONS THAT HAPPENED ON THE DATE OF THESE MINUTES.  DUE TO THE COVID-19 SITUATION, THINGS ARE RAPIDLY CHANGING.  FOR OFFICIAL POLICY PLEASE WAIT FOR DOCUMENTS FROM THE APPROPRIATE OFFICES.     

  1. Approve agenda (10:00)
  2. Approve minutes from August 10
  3. Announcements
    1. ASM
      1. N/A
    2. Operations Update
      1. Reminder to order box lunch for Convocation on Friday, 8/20/21
      2. Live Q&A with Beth Lesen, AVP for Student Affairs at 2:30 pm on Friday, 8/20/21.
      3. Emails with Withdrawal and COVID-19 related syllabi language are coming out soon.
      4. Updating the CNSM email contact roster.
  4. Associate Deans
    1. Academic Programs
      1. Chairs are encouraged to pay attention to excessive withdrawals in specific sections.
        1. High withdrawal rate could indicate issues with course or student support.
  5. Dean’s Update
    1. If a class is AMI, students cannot be required to have cameras on.
    2. Looking into the possibility of getting microphones for faculty who requested them.
      1. Short-term vs. long-term rentals via ATS.
  6. Safety
    1. Disinfection
      1. Discussion: Consider asking instructors involved in face-to-face learning to be responsible for lightly spraying down the table/desk areas after the class is completed?
        1. Unrealistic to ask instructors in large lecture halls to spray all desks.
        2. Ask BBS to take on this responsibility in large lecture halls.
      2. We do expect the instructor to disinfect their podium and instructor area once they are finished teaching.
    2. Masks
      1. As of now, if you’re outdoors you do not need to wear a mask unless you are waiting for public transit or are not vaccinated.
  7. IT
    1. Working through the backlog of faculty/lecturer computers; about 3 left.
    2. Lab Status
      1. G2 Lab and Poster Printing is currently closed.
      2. Will be updating the Geology lab this week.
      3. Biology lab may be short on computers.
      4. Email tech team for renewal of student remote lab log in capabilities.
    3. Recommended way to spray down iPads to avoid damage:
      1. Avoid using alcohol as it will eat away protective coating.
      2. Can use very light soap and water or a moist towelette without alcohol.
  8. Fall Semester/Repopulation Updates and Q&A
    1. Beth Lesen, AVP for Student Affairs, has offered to do a Q&A for TAs, Lecturers, and Tenure-Track Faculty.
      1. 8/20/21 at 2:30 pm.
      2. An independent email will go out to faculty today.
      3. College will provide a website so meeting attendees can questions ahead of time.
  9. New Business
    1. Kris has asked that we have a place on BeachBoard or somewhere online where we can view all mass communications that go out to students.
      1. University mass communication with students is not accessible to us; we don’t know what students are receiving.
    2. Faculty should enter the semester under the assumption that they will need to provide alternative testing methods for students who are not approved to come to campus by the COVID-19 screening questionnaire.
      1. Common message should be: Sick people should not come to campus.
    3. We should all be prepared to move to AMI, just in case.

 

Upcoming Dates:

August 20 – Convocation
August 20 – Q&A with Beth Lesen
August 23 – Fall Classes Start
 

Meeting Minutes were APPROVED on Tuesday, August 30, 2021

*Note: This reflects discussion on the date of the CDC meeting about policies, not actual policy. Faculty and staff should wait for official communication on each subject before acting.