SENT ON BEHALF OF DEAN MOSS VOLLWEILER
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Dear Students:
We hope this email finds you all healthy and safe. This email is intended to communicate some initial information regarding academic operations for the Fall 2020 term, as of today. There are many logistics and specifics regarding full building operations still being considered by our Faculty/Staff Fall 2020 Task force, who began work back in April. Please understand that the world we are operating in is constantly in flux. However, we believe it is important to share this big picture information with you to help you with your planning. We have made these plans under the direction of the University, health and safety guidelines, and student feedback.
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Course Delivery Plan as of Today (June 26, 2020)
The College of Law will be delivering all courses in one of three modalities:
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First, while our priority is to offer courses through other methods, to ensure the health/safety of some at-risk faculty members, some courses will be converted to entirely online delivery. We will use Zoom, embedded in Canvas, to ensure a blend of synchronous and asynchronous delivery in accordance with our existing best practices for online education. Faculty have been undergoing training in best practices in online education this summer.
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2. Blendflex for face-to-face Courses
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Second, the University has adopted and is training faculty in the the "BlendFlex" model for all courses being offered face-to-face on campus. The “Blend” refers to all face-to-face courses being offered in a blended delivery—both face-to-face and synchronously remote live, simultaneously. The university has invested in, and is currently installing, the technology necessary for faculty members to teach simultaneously to students in-room, and to students appearing remotely. Such technology will allow all students and the professor to see each other on large screens, and for all students, regardless of their attendance mode, to participate in all aspects of each course. The “Flex” refers to the student’s ability to choose, based on their own health and safety concerns, whether to attend face-to-face or remotely, on any given day. All remote participation will be synchronous with the in-person course. We are looking into having students trained in the technology assigned to classes to assist with any issues. Classes offered in this modality have been moved to rooms large enough to safely accommodate all students should they all attend in-person on any given day. All persons on campus will be required to wear masks while in the building.
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3. Rotated Blendflex for face-to-face Courses
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Last, some classes will be subject to Rotated BlendFlex.
When it is not possible to accommodate all students
in-person simultaneously should all choose to attend, students will be put on a balanced rotation of face-to-face and remote attendance. While students will not be required to attend in-person on their assigned days, they may only attend in-person on their assigned days. As such, a portion of the class will be required to participate remotely on a planned published schedule, to ensure the classroom attendance meets safety guidelines, taught in accordance with the BlendFlex system as described above.
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We have applied for a variance from the ABA that would exempt any courses changed from in person to online from the Winter 2020, Summer 2020, Fall 2020 or Winter 2021 terms due to health and safety reasons from the limits on distance education. Any course that was designed and created as an online course originally, and noted as such in the course descriptions/offerings will continue to count toward distance learning limits. We do not yet have the list of which courses will be offered in which modality, but we will notice students as soon as possible.
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Final Exams
We are already working on ensuring as smooth a final exam period as possible for the term. The following is some information regarding final exams, which will run as indicated in the academic calendar, from November 20th through December 6, 2020. We are planning for the availability of students to choose between taking exams on campus or remotely, and will continue to monitor the public health situation for an ultimate determination of the availability of in-person exams during the term.
To accommodate the necessity for remote access, the exact dates for each exam offering as published in Course Wizard may change, so students must plan to be available for exams at any time during this entire exam block (excluding Wednesday November 25th through Friday November 27th for the Thanksgiving holiday).
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All exams will be either:
- A timed proctored exam; or
- A take home exam
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All timed exams will be offered via ExamSoft, the system we have used consistently for exams before Winter 2020. Exam Soft has an AI proctored add on product, allowing remotely proctored exams. However, this service is different than the one used in Winter 2020, as it does not entail personal proctor interruptions experienced by some students, yet still ensures adequate exam security and the monitoring of the identification and actions of students taking exams remotely to ensure compliance with ABA standards.
This proctoring service is the one used for the remotely administered LSAT. Additionally, the ExamSoft platform allows students taking exams in person to do so off-line, reducing the possibility of internet interruptions causing disruption issues. All take home exams will be offered via TWEN.
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All timed exams will be offered both in person (pending our availability to be in person) and remotely. Students will be required to choose their exam modality in advance of the exam period. Any student who does not choose in person exam administration will be required to take his or her exams remotely. More information will be forthcoming.
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All exams, whether remotely or in person will be offered in 48-hour windows. Students who choose to take exams in-person will be responsible for signing up for a room and time block for an exam within their window. The new exams schedule, within the dates set by the academic calendar, will be released as soon as possible.
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All exams will be loaded online into ExamSoft or TWEN. No paper copies of exams will be distributed.
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We hope this information is helpful for you, but we understand you may have many questions and we will work to be able to answer them when possible. We appreciate your patience as we navigate through ever changing circumstances in new ways.
Your SBA reps are also available to discuss these plans with you, with the understanding that many decisions are still in progress as information about our community situation is still evolving. We encourage you to reach out to them with questions or concerns. The task force will be meeting with them in a few weeks to discuss updates, concerns and questions regarding Fall 2020.
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SBA representatives can be contacted via email
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- 3L reps: Camelia Craciun, Stevie Stringer, Lucky Roselli, Maysun Salgan
- 2L reps: Corey David, Josh Kon, Noah Pollock, Deborah Caputo
- Part-Time reps: Michelle Pimienta, Caitlin Ramos (Lastinger)
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We look forward to a positive, productive Fall term as we all work together.
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Dean Debra Moss Vollweiler
Interim Dean
Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Professor of Law
Nova Southeastern University | Shepard Broad College of Law
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