This evening we received guidance from Florida’s Commissioner of Education. You will see this communication referenced in the latest email from FSCJ communications. A relevant excerpt for FSCJ appears here:
Postsecondary Institutions
o All public state college and university, and private college and university campuses and buildings are closed for the remainder of the spring semester.
- Colleges and universities are encouraged to operate virtually or through other non-classroom-based means to the greatest extent possible.
- Colleges and universities should be prepared to extend their educational calendars through June 30, 2020, to the extent feasible and necessary.
Please note that in addition to leveraging online instruction, Commissioner Corcoran’s instruction also allows for “other non-classroom-based means” of meeting our educational objectives. It also raises the option of extending the educational calendar well into the summer,
which is not our plan as of this update.
FSCJ leadership is fully reviewing this guidance and its operational requirements. You should expect to hear more during tomorrow’s OnPoint call and through subsequent written communication.
The transition to Online and tomorrow's Online Now event
Education Commissioner Corcoran’s communication makes it clear that online education will be a major and sustained part of our response to COVID-19. As we continue to prepare for the transition to online for all courses, please keep in mind the resources that have been previously shared. To make previously shared Academic Operations Bulletins easier to access, tomorrow (3/18/20) we will add them to the COVID-19 Information web-page. In addition, consider joining the Academic Technology team tomorrow, March 18 at 10 am, at
live.fscj.edu
for a live look at what you need to do to get ready to teach online starting next week.
Brandi Bleak, Robyn Reese, Thomas Lewis, and Professor Audrey Antee will be here to help you make this mandatory transition as easy as possible. They will review a Quick Start course they have prepared to help make this transition from face-to-face to online learning as quick and easy as possible, and answer any questions you may have about the process.
If it’s not possible to join the live session, a recording of the broadcast will be available on the
Academic Technology blog
following the event.
Testing Support
In light of Commissioner Corcoran’s communication, this section of the Academic Operations Bulletin is being shared as a
contingency, only for potential planning purposes
. Once we further understand the Commissioner’s guidance, we will be able to confirm or alter plans for testing support, as needed.
This plan is very fluid and could continue to change or evolve, please continue to check your email account for the most up-to-date information. In tomorrow’s updates we will confirm whether the College plans to resume testing for all online and hybrid students on Monday 3/23/20. Assuming that we are able to, the testing procedure for these students will remain unchanged.
We will also confirm tomorrow where we are with intended plans to begin testing on-ground students in our campus Assessment and Certification Centers. Assuming that we are able to, the procedure for on-ground classes will closely mimic the current on-ground faculty make-up policy.
The faculty member should download and complete the
"On-Ground Contingency Testing"
form. Only one form is necessary for your class and a roster can be attached to the form. This new form will be uploaded to the classroom section of myFSCJ no later than first thing Friday morning (3/20/20).
Next, the faculty member should email the completed
On-Ground Contingency Testing
form and any attachments to the assessment center at the campus where the class is assigned. Please allow one (1) business day for the exam to be processed.
Once the form is processed, the faculty member will be emailed by the appropriate Assessment and Certification Centers informing you that your students are ready to schedule their exams. The students can schedule their examination at
www.fscj.edu/assessment
by clicking on the
"Make a Testing Appointment"
button. The students can test at any of our testing centers.
We are also researching various low cost technology options to monitor examinations that are entered in and administered in Canvas. These technologies include Proctorio, HonorLock, and SmarterServices.
In summation: We expect to begin testing in support of our online, hybrid, and on-ground classes beginning on Monday, 3/23/20. We are also researching low cost technologies to shift to all examinations being administered in Canvas and technology being utilized to "proctor" the examination. Finally, ProctorU will remain an examination administration option as well.
Q & A re Curriculum Development Calendar
Q:
Will the Curriculum Development Calendar change as a result of the College’s COVID-19 plans?
A:
No, the Curriculum Development Calendar will not change as a result of the College’s COVID-19 plans.
The Curriculum Committee will vote electronically this week on proposals originally scheduled for the Thursday, March 19
th
meeting. In addition, faculty and academic administrators will have the opportunity to submit proposals for the April, May, and June Curriculum Committee meetings, according to the following timeline:
Curriculum Committee Date Proposal Submission Date
April 16, 2020 March 25, 2020 (prior modification because of spring break)
May 21, 2020 April 20, 2020
June 18, 2020 May 18, 2020
Q
: How will faculty and academic administrators receive assistance with their curriculum proposals?
A:
Faculty and academic administrators are welcome to email Rebecca Nelson, Curriculum Services Specialist; Jennifer Mullings, Director of Curriculum Services; and/or Kathleen Ciez-Volz, Associate Provost of Curriculum and Instruction, for assistance with their proposals. The Curriculum Services team will closely monitor email throughout the teleworking period and welcomes the opportunity to assist via telephone and WebEx conferences.
Telecommuting and limited on-site activity
FSCJ is currently working via mandatory telecommuting for all employees, except for a limited number who have been called in by supervisors to meet required operational needs (e.g., security). Only those who have been called to be on-site by their supervising administrator have permission to do so. If you find yourself in a situation in which you need to pick something up to advance your work, you are required to notify your supervisor who should then advance the request to my office so that we can provide approval and a heads-up to security.
Whether Academic Affairs recalls employees to work onsite once classes resume online on Monday, March 23 will depend on further understanding Commissioner Corcoran’s communication. Again, updates will be shared during tomorrow’s OnPoint and through subsequent additional communication.
