OU announced in an email to faculty Friday afternoon that class absences caused by illness or isolation will not be penalized, child care resources are being developed for faculty and Election Day will replace the OU-Texas holiday this year.
According to the email from interim Senior Vice President and Provost Jill Irvine, the attendance policy is for the fall 2020 semester and is university-wide. It allows students who are sick or have been exposed to COVID-19 to miss class without penalty or formal documentation from healthcare professionals. Irvine said the goal of the policy was promoting community health and would encourage students that have been exposed to COVID-19 to stay home.
The policy states students who have been experiencing COVID-19 symptoms or have been in contact with others should stay at home to protect others, make sure necessary screening has been completed and treatment has been obtained, and continue to do coursework as much as possible.
Faculty should continue to work with students unable to attend class, Irvine said in the email, and guidelines for institutional continuity can be found under the Instructional Faculty section of the OU Together website.
Irvine also said in the email the Student Government Association has requested Election Day be declared an institutional holiday in place of the Friday before the OU-Texas football game. The email read that, “in keeping with the tradition of offering students a fall instructional holiday,” Nov. 3 will be the 2020 Fall Student Holiday, and classes will be held as usual on the traditional OU-Texas holiday, Oct. 9.
“We wanted a holiday that was a productive replacement for OU-Texas,” SGA Undergraduate Congress Chair Savanah Patterson said. “... Our goal was to basically ensure that students had as much accessibility and as much opportunity to go cast their vote this time.”
Patterson said she’s heard from some that the only reason they haven’t voted in the past was because they wanted to avoid being marked absent in class.
“I know a lot of students don’t really have the opportunity, and I’m hoping this would allow them to vote without the repercussions academically and financially,” Patterson said.
Patterson said she hopes this year sets a precedent for Election Day to be recognized as an OU holiday in the future. She said she hopes Election Day and the OU-Texas holiday will both be recognized by the university, but that will be discussed more in the future.
In the email, Irvine said many faculty members are now facing childcare challenges in addition to their teaching and scholarly responsibilities. Last week, her office administered a survey on care needs for parents impacted by Norman Public Schools' and Oklahoma City Public Schools’ recent decisions to begin the school year online.
The survey received 2,277 total responses from faculty, staff and students on all three campuses.
“Faculty, staff and students indicated they expect several challenges related to unanticipated care for school age children including financial, family health/safety, childcare availability and work-life balance,” the email read. “The Provost's Office is working with Human Resources, Legal Counsel and other offices to determine resources to most effectively address these concerns.”
Irvine said in the email an initial list of resources for community members can be found on the OU Together website, and she plans to release more information and resources in the coming week.
The email read, “with the start of classes and the rising population on our Norman campus,” Irvine’s team is developing a phased plan allowing for “maximum flexibility” in response to COVID-19. This plan will contain guiding principles to keep administrators grounded in their assessment of developing trends in health and healthcare capacity, as well as possible instructional changes.
“As always, I and my team in the Provost’s office are here to listen to and support you in every way we can,” Irvine said in the email. “Please feel free to continue to reach out to us directly with any questions or concerns.”
