Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com • August 24, 2020 • Hartford Business Journal 11 45% of UConn students will receive remote learning only this fall Q&A talks to Carl W. Lejuez, UConn's provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, about the fall semester. Q. UConn and all Connecticut col- leges were forced to adopt virtual learning almost overnight in the middle of the spring semester. What were the biggest challenges in adapting to that new world? A. When COVID first emerged, I was still at the University of Kansas as interim provost, but my sense of the biggest challenge, aside from having to make incredibly hard deci- sions with no recent historical prec- edent and rapidly shifting data, was the sheer volume of courses that needed to be transitioned overnight. At UConn, we relied most heav- ily on our Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning. They served as a one-stop shop for instructors to access guides and trainings to transition their classes in a rigorous and thoughtful manner. Our deans and department heads also provided invaluable leader- ship to our senior leaders who were tasked with making challenging decisions that sought to prioritize safety while also ensuring academic integrity and excellence. Q. UConn plans to open its campus for the fall semester later this month, but not all faculty and students will return for in-person instruction due to the coronavirus pandemic. What percentage of faculty and students do you expect will choose distance learn- ing only? Will there be hybrid options available as well? A. With the hard work of our faculty, staff and graduate student instructors, we are able to offer an ample selection of remote learning courses for those who want this experience only; about 45% of stu- dents will take courses exclusively online. On the other hand, many of our students, especially those in their first year, wanted as many in-person or hybrid options as we could safely offer. Classroom spaces will be at about 30% of their usual capacity in order to comply with social distanc- ing requirements. Q. How does distance learning at UConn work? A. While it is true that many distance learning courses were first taught in-person, it is crucial to un- derstand that quality distance learn- ing is not simply putting materials online from an in-person course. Distance courses that are most effective utilize the full range of technology available, from recorded lectures to discussion forums to short quizzes. They use the online environment to bring the material alive in new ways and to build intel- lectual exchange among the instruc- tor and all of the students. Additionally, because some of the material is asynchronous, students have some additional flexibility in how and when they engage with course materials. Q. All students will be participat- ing in virtual instruction only after Thanksgiving. How will that work? A. Part of our strategy to support the in- person experi- ence this fall is to have students remain in as much of a 'bubble' as possible by limiting their opportunities to travel outside of their respective campus. Thanksgiving holiday travel would pose a great threat to that bubble. Therefore, we made the decision to have all in-person instruction end the week before Thanksgiving. At that point, all classes will be taught remotely, but unlike the spring, all faculty will go into this period with far more time to prepare virtual instruction. We will have one full week of classes the week following Thanksgiving, and then the week of Dec. 7 will include classes on Monday, followed by a reading period from Tuesday to Fri- day, to prepare for exams the week of Dec. 14. Q. How will this move to remote ed- ucation impact UConn and higher education in general long term? A. For much of its history, the pace of change at higher education institu- tions could be best described as steady and methodical. In recent years, I have seen this change with institutions of higher learning beginning to become more agile and innovative, and this has only become more evident with the emergence of COVID-19. As we have faced significant chal- lenges and changes to our usual op- erations for spring and fall, our com- munity has come together to shift all courses and nearly all services to remote operation with incredible skill and swiftness. Trends show us that students in- creasingly need flexibility in order to pursue higher learning, and we have made big strides in our capacity for meeting that need. Carl W. Lejuez Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, UConn FOCUS: EDUCATION Quality Construction + Butler Manufacturing = Repeat Customers www.borghesibuilding.com © 2011 BlueScope Buildings North America, Inc. All rights reserved. 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