- Wellness Center removes seating; asks students to eat in dorms
- Don't panic, but it's not another spring break.
- Registrar, Tutoring, Advising, Career Development to be available remotely.
- Student Workers can still work.
- Dormitories and Dining Hall remain open with restrictions. IST closed to students.
- Student Government Association postpones elections.
- Core faculty being trained in remote teaching. Tests to be administered online.
- Classes will be held remotely for two weeks starting Monday. Events canceled.
Wellness Center removes seating; asks students to eat in dorms
Tables and seating are unavailable. A worker at the dining hall serves food for a student. A sign asks students to not reuse cups. Options are available for food still. Empty tables at the wellness center. Dining hours have been reduced to one hour each meal on weekdays, two each on weekends. The desert bar is empty.
Photos by Ezekiel Huynh for Layers Media.
Don’t panic, but it’s not another spring break.
Classes will start at eight Monday morning, like any other start of the week, just that students won’t fill the classroom seats. It will mark the beginning of the remote instruction period, which will last at least two weeks.
“They [Students] can expect common exams to be held. They can expect for exams to happen, papers to be turned in,” said Vice Provost Dr. Kathryn Miller. “Look at this as a continuation of the Florida Poly academic experience.”
For students without technology, laptops for check-out are available, though limited. “We’re trying to be as equitable as possible on that,” said Dr. Miller. The Academic Sucess Center East, attached to the Phase 2 Dormitory, can be used as a computer lab or study space.
“I think the key for all of this is that we stay calm,” said Dr. Miller.
Registrar, Tutoring, Advising, Career Development to be available remotely.
Contact details for the Registrar and Career Development have been sent to all students. Details on tutoring and advising will be available on canvas.
At the time of writing, no changes for registration have been announced.
Student Workers can still work.
Except for admissions, student worker positions will be done remotely if possible. If the position cannot be done remotely, student workers can contact HR for interim duties.
Dormitories and Dining Hall remain open with restrictions. IST closed to students.
The dormitories have barred guests, and the dining hall has reduced hours to avoid or prevent the spread of the virus. Students staying aren’t permitted to travel beyond Polk county without approval from Residential Life, and students leaving aren’t allowed to return until regular instruction resumes.
The Innovation, Science, and Technology building, normally open to students 24 hours daily, is now limited to faculty and staff only. Graduate students will need to contact their faculty advisor for building access.
“If you choose to remain on campus, please limit your travel as much as possible to avoid the spread of disease,” said Paul Carey, Assistant Director of Residential Life, in an email to residents.
Dr. Miller, in an email, wrote that students staying on-campus should be prepared additional restrictions and the possibility of 14+ day quarantines in the dormitories.
Additionally, the dining hall has released its hours. They are significantly reduced, spanning one hour Monday to Friday for breakfast at 8 am, lunch at 12 pm, and dinner at 5 pm with two hours for Saturday and Sunday brunch at 11 am, and dinner at 5 pm.
Student Government Association postpones elections.
In an SGA Senate meeting yesterday, elections were moved to April 14-15. The resolution cited “reasonable conflict” in the form of the Board of Governor’s recommendation of remote instruction and encouraging students to return home.
Elections were originally going to be held on March 31st and April 1st. Additional details will be emailed to students.
- Applications Open: 03/09
- Application Deadline: 03/27@ 2:00 pm
- Applicant Meeting: 03/30
- Campaigning Start: 04/01
- Voting: 04/14 – 04/15 8:00am – 5:00pm
- Runoff Voting: 4/21 – 04/22
- Results Announced: As soon as votes are counted and verified.
Bold indicates change
Core faculty being trained in remote teaching. Tests to be administered online.
Doug Holton, who supports faculty as Director of Teaching and Learning for the University, maintains a Canvas Space containing resources for student success, technology and teaching, and most recently, teaching remotely in the event of an emergency.
“We’re trying to get faculty prepared to teach remotely,” said Holton. He broke it down into three parts: course content, assessments, and interaction.
Course content includes lectures, along with notes and slides. “Instead of listening to a lecture face to face, they’ll probably, most likely be watching lectures online,” said Holton. Professors have the option to give lectures live and accept questions online. Panapto and Cisco Webex are options.
Assessment encompasses quizzes, tests, and assignments. In addition to the standard canvas offerings, Holton mentioned proctored exams via Proctorio will be available soon, suitable for common exams.
Interaction refers to communication between students and instructors and among students. Canvas groups, in addition to canvas messaging and email are available.
Some aspects are will being worked on, such as labs and more hands-on classes. Additionally of concern is a lack of technology or the internet at home for students. Services such as tutoring and advising are also being worked on.
Classes will be held remotely for two weeks starting Monday. Events canceled.
The university will be delivering instruction remotely starting Monday, March 16th. All university events, including Phoenix Family Day and the Florida Poly Pi Run, are canceled through March 30th. Student events, including FLPolycon, are canceled until further notice. Students are encouraged to return home this Friday.
The decision comes from the Florida Board of Governors, affecting all State Universities. This information comes from an email from Randy Avent, the university’s president.