A full and safe return
We take your health and well-being seriously and pray for your continued safety and well-being. Thank you for your cooperation by following these guidelines.
COVID-19 policies
Masks
As of August 16, 2021, Concordia University requires everyone to wear face masks, cloth face coverings or face shields in classrooms, laboratories and other similar indoor spaces where in-person instruction occurs. The Concordia community views this practice as a mark of good citizenship and respectful care for our students and colleagues. As a Christian community, we value and demonstrate care and concern for the health and well-being of others. We also highly value being able to gather to teach and to learn in our classrooms without capacity restrictions. The mask policy may change during the semester; please watch your university email for updates.
Due to the need for face coverings, no eating or drinking will be permitted in face-to-face classrooms or labs. Please ask your students to sit in the same place in the classroom every day, and create a seating chart to make contract tracing easier, if that becomes necessary.
Daily symptoms tracker
Complete the Daily Symptoms Tracker at https://cuw.medicatconnect.com each day during the semester. Please ask students to show the “green dot” on their phone when they enter the physical classroom. We also ask you to evaluate your own health status regularly and refrain from attending class and other on-campus events if you are ill. You are encouraged to seek appropriate medical attention for treatment of illness. In the event of contagious illness, do not come to class or to campus.
Class attendance
During the pandemic we’ve all extended some additional grace to our students. This fall, our care and concern for them means we want and expect them to be in class, where they can do their best learning. Students enrolled in face-to-face class sections are expected to attend in-person this fall. Attendance will be taken and recorded as usual on the CUWAA portal using our automatic attendance tool. Faculty must clearly explain course attendance requirements on the syllabus. Please reinforce them as you normally would.
Students who miss an in-person class due to illness (either COVID-19 or another illness) must follow the course policy for notifying the instructor and making up any missed material or assignments. If a student requires an accommodation for an extended illness/quarantine, that student will work through the ARC, and the faculty member will be contacted by ARC. Please follow ARC’s instructions to serve those students.
When students have an excused absence but do not have a formal accommodation, faculty will provide access to the course material in another form or at another time. Typically, we expect that faculty will record their class with Panopto or Zoom and post the recording in Blackboard. It may also be appropriate to post slides, readings, assignments or notes in Blackboard; use whatever mechanism most effectively gives your students access to the course material from that class session. The “Occasional Use of Zoom” policy described in the Faculty Handbook would apply in such situations. Similarly, if a faculty member is ill or quarantined, but able to teach remotely, that instructor may move a class session to Zoom. Be sure to notify your students if that happens, and provide the Zoom link.
Office hours
Full-time faculty members may hold office hours and advising sessions virtually through Zoom, or in-person when both the instructor and the student agree to meet face-to-face.
Faculty must clearly explain their office hour policies on the syllabus. (Remember that university policy requires 10 office hours per week during the traditional semester.)
Accommodations
Faculty who teach practicums, labs, field experience, and internship courses, and administer exams through these courses, should work with the ARC to provide appropriate accommodations for students.
When in doubt about providing accommodations to students due to COVID-19, other medical conditions, or disabilities, faculty are encouraged to contact the ARC Director on their campus.
At CUAA, contact:
Beth Strom (temporary director for fall 2021)
Academic Resource Center & Accessibility Services
734-995-7582
Elizabeth.Strom@cuaa.edu
Tori Negash, MSW, LLMSW, PhD (returning spring of 2022)
Director, Academic Resource Center & Accessibility Services