Dear UM Instructors,

Please read the information below. We hope it will help you prepare for fall semester 2020, which begins next week!

Where to find the latest information on UM’s response to coronavirus

The UM Coronavirus website and UM’s email newsletter, UMToday, should be your main sources for updates and information related to UM’s response to coronavirus throughout the fall semester.

Campus communications from the Office of the Provost and President, and emails from chairs and deans are key sources of information for instructors.

Department and college meetings, especially at the start of fall semester, will feature critical information from chairs and deans. Please attend them.

Coronavirus testing

The situation on testing is evolving rapidly. As of August 13, 2020:

• Students can get tested at Curry Health Center.
• Employees can get tested at the Missoula City-County Health Department.

The State and OCHE are taking measures to improve test turnaround times and increase access to asymptomatic testing. The UM coronavirus website and campus communications will feature updates.

Risk mitigation on campus

COVID exposure is a risk for most of us as fall semester begins. Please rest assured UM has set in place measures to mitigate this risk, outlined in the Healthy Fall 2020 Plan.

• UM has formed a COVID-19 Response Team that is monitoring the situation on campus on a daily basis and providing up-to-date guidance.
• UM has adopted measures for mitigating risk of COVID transmission on campus, including regular cleaning schedules, physical distancing, classroom modifications, mask requirements, disinfectant and hand sanitizer in all buildings, etc.

Contact tracing

UM employees and students can choose to download the UM app and enable push notifications to receive daily prompts to self-report symptoms. This will support contact tracing efforts on the UM campus. Please encourage your colleagues and students to consider participating.

You may learn that you were around someone who was exposed to COVID or who is COVID-positive, and wonder if and when Missoula City-County Health Department (MCCHD) contact tracers will contact you. Please remember that there are criteria for contact tracing focusing on those who have been in “close contact” that not everyone who’s been around someone with COVID or COVID exposure meet. MCCHD defines “close contact” as being within 6 feet of someone for at least 15 minutes during a time when the person was contagious.  Unless you hear from MCCHD, you should not have to quarantine or seek testing.

If you learn that one of your students has tested positive for COVID, there is no need to cancel class or send the other students home. The mitigation measures in place at UM (6-feet physical distancing, mask requirement, regular cleaning of classrooms) are designed to significantly minimize risk. Extra cleaning will not be necessary because classrooms are cleaned on a regular basis. MCCHD will contact the individuals they consider at risk because of contact with the student.

Face covering policy

Please make sure you read the entire policy, procedure, and associated FAQs that address exemptions and enforcement.

In order to help ensure the health and safety of the University of Montana (UM) community and the public, all University employees, students, contractors, vendors and visitors must wear face coverings on site at a University location, and off-site in all University programs and activities.

As of August 13, per MCCHD policy, face shields are not allowed as a substitute for masks. Instructors will be required to wear face masks while teaching.

Healthy Griz Kits

Kits containing face masks, a cloth, hand sanitizer, and disinfectant will be distributed to the campus community. Distribution sites will be advertised in UMToday. Please use these supplies to clean your work spaces, clean your hands, and cover your face while on campus. Refill stations are being installed in campus buildings. Launder masks and cloths daily.

Resources for teaching face to face and remote

• Classrooms have been assigned. Check out your space. Technology walkthroughs are scheduled Aug 14 and 17. Space is limited – please sign up to learn how classroom technology and software such as webcams, microphones, and lecture capture can be used to support your teaching this fall.
• Every course has been assigned a Moodle shell. Placing assignments and course materials in the Moodle shell can help faculty be prepared for multiple contingencies and support students who cannot attend in person. 
• If you have never used Moodle, please sign into UMOnline using your NetID and password and go through the self-paced module on Moodle Basics.
• Resources, tools, and strategies for face to face and remote are available on the Keep on Teaching web page and the Office of Organizational Learning and Development’s Distance Teaching page.

Understanding the difference between “blended” vs. “hyflex” courses

“Blended” and “hyflex” are terms that describe different teaching modalities available to UM instructors this fall. These terms are not interchangeable and mean different things.

Example: For a class that meets Tuesdays and Thursdays, has 18 students enrolled in it, and is assigned to a classroom with a maximum capacity of 9 students.

The blended approach would consist of

• Most of the course being taught online with content on Moodle
• 9 students meeting face to face on Tuesday to participate in a course-related activity
• The other 9 students meeting face to face on Thursday to participate in the same course-related activity the other students did Tuesday.
• Suggestion: Divide the class in 2 and let students know at the beginning of the class what day they will participate face to case (Tuesday or Thursday).

The hyflex approach would consist of

• 9 students attending class face to face Tuesday and Thursday
• The other 9 students joining the class via Zoom at the same time Tuesday and Thursday to receive the same instruction the students in the classroom receive.
• Suggestion: Email students at the beginning of the class and ask which 9 students would like to participate face to face and which 9 students would like to participate through Zoom.

Please consider these options and ensure you use the correct terms to avoid confusion.

Content for syllabi and the first day of class

UM’s Health Advisory Group Academic Safety sub-committee shared this guidance for instructors. Please consider including this in your course syllabi and communicate it to your students the first day of class. In addition, Faculty Senate Chair Chris Palmer has created a PowerPoint presentation for you to use on the first day of class.

• If the class is being recorded, instructors must notify students of the recording.
• Mask use is required within the classroom.
• Each student is provided with a Healthy Griz kit. We expect students to clean their personal work space when they arrive for class, and before they leave the classroom.
• Refill stations for cleaning supplies/hand sanitizer will be set up around campus - please learn where they are and use them.
• Classrooms may have one-way entrances / exits to minimize crowding. 
• Students are discouraged from congregating outside the classroom before and after class. In the case of 3 hour-long classes, instructors should stagger breaks for small groups of students.
• Instructors should assign seating to ensure social distancing and take attendance to support contact tracing efforts. 
• Instructors should not allow more students in their classrooms at any time, for any reason, than the maximum approved capacity.
• Additional seating should not be added to classrooms.
• Drinking liquids and eating food (which requires mask removal) is strongly discouraged within the classroom.
• There is high demand for spaces on campus to accommodate students with inadequate WiFi in their homes or quick turnarounds between face-to-face and remote classes. A list of remote learning spaces with the days and times available for student use will be posted on the Keep on Learning website. There will be signs posted outside of these buildings and rooms to indicate their availability.
• Stay home and contact the Curry Health Center at (406) 243-4330 if you feel sick and/or if exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms.
• If you are diagnosed with COVID-19, follow instructions for quarantine and contact your advisor so they can help you stay on track academically.
• Students, please remain vigilant outside the classroom and help mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

Students and accommodations

As usual, students needing accommodations must work with the Office for Disability Equity. ODE will work with students and instructors to facilitate student accommodations.

Please note that it is normally not a reasonable accommodation for students to not wear a face covering. ODE will generally recommend to students who cannot wear a face covering for a medical reason to attend class remotely. If a student reports that they have a medical exemption from wearing a face covering, and does not provide a letter from ODE, instructors may prohibit them from attending class without a face covering until they can verify this information with ODE.

If an undergraduate student becomes sick and needs to quarantine, they should inform their advisor for help staying on track academically. Graduate students should advise their graduate program director. Graduate students who are TAs or RAs should also inform their supervisors and chairs.

Contingency planning

Please determine who your backup will be, for instructional purposes, in case you get sick or have to care for others who are sick. Ensure this individual is identified as someone who can submit grades for you in case you cannot. TAs should also identify a backup.

If you get sick, please isolate and get a COVID test. If your test is positive, please inform your chair so alternate arrangements can be made. You will be eligible for COVID leave.

Telework arrangements

The Keep on Working website states: "Campus is the work site for all employees. However, if there are reasons which management and employees can agree upon, then there is a Telecommuting procedure available on the HRS website, which can be found as the very last item on that list."

• Faculty should first have a conversation with your chair and dean, then complete the Faculty Telecommuting Agreement and have the dean sign it. The dean's signature is required on this form.
• Then please send the completed form  to HRSCommunications@umontana.edu.
• Telework agreements submitted in the spring will not be valid for the fall. Individuals who wish to telecommute in fall semester must submit new forms.
• If you completed a telework agreement last spring, you do not have to resubmit one for the fall; however, please ensure that your chair and dean continue to support this teleworking arrangement.

UM and MCPS academic calendars

UM changed the start date of fall semester 2020 in order to end the semester at Thanksgiving. This means that UM’s fall semester begins a few weeks before Missoula County Public Schools. Please complete this survey by tomorrow, August 14 to share information about your child care needs.

Thank you!

We recognize and deeply appreciate the extraordinary efforts you are making to teach this academic year. Thank you. Please email officeoftheprovost@umontana.edu if you have questions or feedback.