Academic Affairs News

Good morning,
 
These are certainly interesting times and we wanted to send this communication to you to share what is being done to support the academic mission at WKU. Per yesterday’s communication sent by President Caboni, Spring Break for all WKU students is being extended by one week. This will give teaching faculty time to consider and prepare to teach their courses in more flexible, non-face-to-face formats beginning on Monday, March 23rd. We have scheduled this alternate teaching format to continue for two weeks (until April 5th) so that we can mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 through social distancing. We will continue to monitor the situation, communicate with you regularly, and make adjustments to this schedule as needed. (Bi-term schedules will be clarified in due course.)
    
Many faculty have already begun preparing for this change in teaching modality. We know this is stressful and that we are asking a lot. You are not expected to recreate your face-to-face classroom in a virtual environment; rather, consider prioritizing what students really need to know during these two weeks while allowing yourself and students time to get used to the new tools and platform(s) you're using. We appreciate the efforts that so many of you have already made. We encourage you to think of this situation as an opportunity to try something new, consider alternative ways to engage students in their educations, prioritize learning goals, and expand your teaching portfolios.
 
Our ultimate request is to remain flexible. I ask that you show patience and understanding to students for whom this transition will be challenging. I am asking all teaching faculty to communicate directly with their students by the middle of next week in preparation for the March 23rd change. The Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning is developing best practices to help students and faculty with these issues. We really hope students will be engaged in the courses but also in this dynamic educational experience. Please put student learning, student success, and student completion at the forefront in this challenging time.
    
There are many options available for teaching faculty and staff. Please visit (virtually or in person) the Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning for information and consultation at (https://www.wku.edu/citl/teaching-remotely/teachingremotely.php).
    
For questions, feel free to email  academic.affairs@wku.edu or call (270) 745-2296.
    
Sincerely,
    
Cheryl Stevens,
Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs
    
Julie Shadoan
Faculty Senate Chair