Immediate Changes: Teaching and Learning This Fall
As you know, undergraduate fall classes begin next Friday, August 27, 2021. Given that we are still gathering information regarding the vaccination status of students and employees, as well as recent changes in infection rates in our community, we have decided to offer flexibility to both students and instructors by allowing remote access to our courses during the first two weeks of the term. There are a few exceptions detailed below. At the end of this period we will remove this availability and all classes will be in-person beginning on Monday, September 13.
This flexibility will not be available in certain programs. Remote access will not be available to graduate and professional programs whose students generally do not take classes outside their program, unless the Dean for that program’s school chooses to allow for that type of access. Deans will communicate separately with their graduate and professional programs if remote access will be available.
All field placements, practicum experiences, lab classes, and research labs will continue activities as planned.
During this time, undergraduate instructors and students will have the flexibility to choose between being in the classroom or using Zoom for synchronous course delivery. This means that:
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Instructors may deliver classes from a location of their choice, including the assigned classroom.
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Students may choose to attend class and learn from a location of their choice, including the assigned classroom. A remote experience must be made available for students who choose this option.
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Campus study and experiential spaces—including all classrooms and libraries—will be open and available to all members of the University community to use during this time.
Important Reminder: You will need to bring your current Pitt ID to gain access to campus buildings.
Students should reach out to their instructors with any questions. If you need support, please contact deanofstudents@pitt.edu.
A few other important notes about this increased flexibility:
We are still planning for outside-the-classroom student activities to continue as scheduled, including in-person Welcome Week events, club sports, and student organization events. Many of these events are already being offered virtually or in a hybrid format, and students should participate as they are comfortable, while following Pitt’s health and safety standards and guidelines.
Additionally, the Presidents of our regional campuses will evaluate the conditions in their respective communities and communicate separately to their students regarding the availability of this flexibility on their campuses.