More on Fall

From an email of earlier today: 

To:	Administrative Officers, Deans, Department Chairs, Directors, Faculty,  Lecturers, Vice Chancellors and Vice Provosts

Dear Colleagues:

With UC President Drake’s announcement regarding plans for a return to in-person instruction in fall 2021, we recognize that many of you have questions about campus reopening this fall. We wanted to assure you that planning for fall 2021 instruction at UCLA is well underway.

All of the COVID-19 Response and Recovery Taskforce Working Groups are identifying the questions that must be addressed and the challenges that must be overcome to enable a potentially substantial return to in-person instruction this fall. In particular, the Education Working Group and the Teaching and Learning Working Group are focused on identifying the numerous factors that need to be considered to ensure high-quality and equitable instruction for students, faculty and staff while also focusing on safety.

At this point, uncertainties remain regarding State of California and Los Angeles County Department of Public Health guidelines that will likely impact classroom and housing occupancies; success of the vaccine distribution among students, faculty and staff prior to the fall; and finding solutions that account for the possibility that not all teaching and learning will be able to be done in person. We are creating several options that take these factors into account.

Recognizing the likelihood that instruction will need to occur in some combination of in person and remote, we are also evaluating the additional support that departments and instructors will need to successfully manage the challenges of a hybrid program. We will be reaching out in the coming weeks to schools, divisions, departments and programs to identify the questions that will need to be answered, including what supplemental resources will be required under such teaching and learning circumstances.

We plan to have more town halls as the work progresses and we will create a webpage to provide updates and a means for you to raise questions or offer suggestions. As we work to finalize a plan, we welcome your insights, thoughts and suggestions at covid19@ucla.edu.

Sincerely,

Michael J. Beck

UCLA Administrative Vice Chancellor

Co-chair, COVID-19 Response and Recovery Task Force

Michael Meranze

Immediate Past Chair, UCLA Academic Senate

Professor of History

Co-chair, COVID-19 Response and Recovery Task Force