Following the circulation of a petition with over 1,500 signatures calling on the OU administration to adjust its reopening policies, Interim Senior Vice President and Provost Jill Irvine outlined OU’s Flexible Teaching plan in a Tuesday email.
The email linked to the university’s “Flexible Teaching Guidelines” webpage, which outlines the process for requesting a remote teaching accommodation.
The petition, which has signatures from students, faculty, staff, administrators and Norman community members, lists four points: Allowing instructors to choose whether they want to teach online or in person, allowing students to choose whether they take classes online or in person, allowing staff who are able to meet their responsibilities remotely to do so and ensuring that no OU community member will be required to disclose their or their family’s personal medical conditions in order to be able to teach, work or learn remotely.
Previously, The Daily reported on OU political science professor Michael Givel, who tried to request a remote teaching accommodation because he is in an at-risk age group and his son, an OU student, is in a “very significant at-risk category.” Givel was denied the accommodation because he didn’t qualify under ADA standards.
According to the new university guidelines, the university said it will first prioritize “(ensuring) that … students have a primarily in-person experience within the health and safety guidelines of governing bodies and health professionals.” Then, “to the extent practical, exercise discretion toward instructional faculty and graduate teaching assistants who are at high risk or who are the primary caregiver for someone at high risk for severe illness due to COVID-19, but who are not eligible for legal accommodation through the ADA process.”
While the new guidelines address the petition’s request for faculty and graduate teaching assistant safety and privacy, the guidelines do not address the other safety or privacy concerns listed on the petition for students or staff.
In a July 6 statement emailed to The Daily, Director of Media Relations Kesha Keith said "similar information about Norman campus and staff is forthcoming."
“Our commitment to providing our students with the best educational experience practical, coupled with ongoing uncertainty about the virus, has generated questions and concerns, and we have heard from many of you who have trepidations about returning to the classroom,” Irvine said in the email. “I know that this situation has created a great deal of uncertainty for faculty and a desire to be as informed as possible as you plan for the fall.”
OU Workers United, the group behind the petition, released a statement in response to the new guidelines, saying the change does not satisfy the points of the petition.
"The Interim Provost's announcement on July 7 of a Flexible Teaching Plan is not a satisfactory response to the concerns presented in the OU Workers United petition," the statement said. "We continue to hope that the University will reconsider its determination to sponsor 'a primarily in-person educational experience.'"
To make a request for a remote teaching accommodation, faculty and graduate teaching assistants should email a written request to their department chair and Committee A, indicating whether the request involves an increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19 for the instructor, or a member of the instructor’s immediate household or someone for whom they are the primary caregiver, or for another reason. If the request is made for the health of the instructor, they must also file a request through the ADA process with OU Human Resources.
According to the guidelines, faculty do not need to provide additional health or personal information to the department when making a request.
The deadline for accommodation requests is July 10.
After the request is submitted, the department chair and Committee A will review and decide to grant or deny the request “within the framework of course delivery currently scheduled for the fall 2020 semester.”
According to the guidelines, the method of delivery — online, in-person or hybrid — will “not generally” be altered “in order to ensure a predominantly in-person instructional model.” Departments may have to shift course assignments in order to maintain the current level of in-person instruction.
If the number of requests for remote teaching accommodations exceeds the department’s ability to respond by shifting course assignments, department chairs and Committee A may propose a hybrid or fully-online model. According to the guidelines, chairs will make these decisions based on considering the courses that “have the greatest impact on students’ ability to receive in-person instruction.”
Priority will be given to requests made for individual instructors at an increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19, followed by requests made for instructors’ immediate household or someone for whom they are the primary caregiver, followed by the requests made using the “other” category.
Department chairs should send recommendations for adjusting course instructors or instructional mode to the dean’s office for review and approval or denial. Upon approval, these recommendations will go to the provost’s office for final approval or denial. According to the guidelines, this process is not expected to exceed 10 days.
Upon the provost office’s decision, faculty members may request a review of the decision by a five-member panel of representatives from the Office of the Senior Vice President and Provost, the Office of Legal Counsel, the Graduate College, the Faculty Senate and a representative chosen by the dean’s office from the instructor’s college.
If an accommodation is denied or the flexibility offered doesn’t satisfy the petitioner, the university “may consider faculty requests for administrative leave without pay.”
“This is an evolving situation which requires all of us to remain flexible and to refine our responses to meet the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Irvine said in the email. “Through each step, your resilience and dedication to our students and to each other have enabled us to move forward in fulfilling our mission. Many thanks for your continued patience as we continue to work through this process.”
Editor's note: this article was updated at 1:55 p.m. July 8 to include the statement from university Director of Media Relations Kesha Keith.
