Dear colleagues,

As shared in the fall 2021 instructional FAQs earlier this week, we ask that all instructors have a seating chart and keep class attendance this semester. In classrooms where maintaining consistent distancing of six feet or more is not possible, this is necessary for contact tracing purposes. If we cannot identify which students were in close contact with the student, it may be necessary to quarantine the whole class. Having a seating chart and taking attendance are laborious tasks, but this proactive approach will help with contract tracing and allow face-to-face instruction to continue.

For classroom seating and taking attendance, please follow the guidelines below:

• Ask students to spread out (without moving the chairs/desks) to the greatest extent possible;
• Note, if after the first week of class (when enrollments tend to fluctuate) your students can maintain 6’ distancing because of low density/ample space in the classroom, then you don’t need to keep taking attendance.
• Convey to students that where they sit on the first day is their seat for the semester. Have them write their seat assignment on their syllabus or in a note on their cell phones for reference.
• Employ one or more of the following strategies:
  1. Print out the classroom layout and share with students in the class. Have students orient to the map and write their full name and seat number on the map and turn it back in.
  2. Project the classroom map on a screen and take attendance the first few classes, asking students to say their seat number when their name is called. This is likely not an option with the larger classes, but could work well in some instances.
  3. In larger classes, consider using a seating chart for per row of seats, and ask students to orient to the map of their row and write their full name and seat number on the map and turn it back in. 
  4. Set up a questionnaire in Moodle so students can answer the question of what seat they are sitting in and then download that report, ordering columns by last name or seat number.
  5. Use the attendance tool in Moodle that can be set up with faculty recording or students self-reporting attendance. 
• Instructors should use the provided numbered layouts, not create their own. With many instructors using the same room, having consistent numbering will be critical in our ability to provide timely information to Missoula City-County Health Department contact tracers, etc.
• Please complete seating charts during the first week of instruction and, if there are late adds or any changes, update the seating chart accordingly. This will help prevent possible miscommunication with students.
• Prepare seat assignment lists using the following naming convention: Instructor’s last name, instructor’s first name, subject/course number/section, CRN. (Example: Smith, John BIOB 101.01 75000) and share them with your department chair/director or administrative associate, who will update them to a secure central folder for quick access to information for contact-tracing.

Facilities Services is working diligently on creating the diagrams for classroom seating charts. The updated PDFs will be uploaded on the Facilities Services website under August 2021 Classroom Layouts. Many of these have already been posted, and any remaining classrooms will be posted by Monday morning.

Again, thank you for your willingness to engage in this important process to support the health and safety of individuals in our classrooms.

Sincerely,

Your colleagues in the Office of the Provost, Registrar’s Office, Instructional Planning Group, Facilities Services and COVID Response Team 

This message was sent to UM faculty, staff, and administrators by the Office of the Provost on behalf of the groups named above.