October 22, 2020
Dear T’22s,
As shared in an update last week, next Wednesday, October 28, we will introduce Hybrid Phase One to all Fall B courses. We will also begin piloting some in-person hybrid instruction, a step toward Hybrid Phase Two. (Reminder: Fall B morning courses will also move to an 8:20 a.m. (ET) start on this date.)
As social distancing mandates limit our classroom spaces to roughly 20 percent of normal capacity, there will be a rotating, equitable system for when students have classroom allocations to participate in hybrid courses. Prior to the start of each week, students will receive a notice of which days they have been allocated classroom spaces. Classroom allocations across all of your core courses will occur on the same day so that you can be fully present on campus for the entire day; you will not have to come and go from campus in between classes.
To access campus buildings and participate in hybrid classes in-person, students will need to have signed the Community Expectations Agreement, participate in weekly COVID testing, complete the daily TSA screening and will need to remain masked.
In classrooms you will notice that seats are appropriately spaced and marked for use. You may also notice the air filtration systems we’ve added in some of our classrooms and new cleaning protocols. As a community that cares for one another, students will be asked to disinfect the spaces they use before and after each class with provided supplies.
In courses delivered under the Hybrid Phase One format, professors will not be in the classroom and will be teaching remotely, unmasked with their faces fully visible. All students in the physical classroom will be participating in the same course. Each student in the classroom will also be logged in via Zoom to retain certain functionalities across the entire class. Headphones will be necessary. The value of Hybrid Phase One is that it enables students to be together, learn with peers in a classroom environment, and enjoy interactions with others on campus.
During pilots of in-person hybrid instruction, some faculty will move into the physical classroom environment, teaching masked to both the students in the room and those online. Students in the classroom will still need to be logged in via Zoom. This is a step toward Hybrid Phase Two which will allow faculty to teach in-person or remotely, in accordance with their personal circumstances.
Not every Fall B course will pilot in-person hybrid instruction. Experiencing variation in hybrid format will allow both students and faculty to be able to compare the online experience and hybrid variations and then provide feedback to inform decisions for the terms ahead.
Throughout all of this exploration, we will adhere closely to our guiding principles. The health and wellbeing of community members will remain paramount, and we will recognize and understand that each of us has different circumstances, health concerns, and participation decisions to make accordingly. Empathy is more important than ever.
Attending class on-campus, in-person during any part of the fall term will remain optional. All fall academic offerings will be made available to students online so that you can participate wherever in the world you may be and make public health decisions that are best for you and your loved ones.
Since we are beginning the move to hybrid midweek next week, please look for an email from the Registrar on Monday with classroom assignments. Thereafter you will start to receive your classroom assignments on Thursday or Friday for the following week. These emails will note whether a faculty member will be piloting in-person hybrid instruction for a course.
Thank you,
Joe, Brian, and Sally
Joe Hall, Senior Associate Dean for Teaching and Learning
Brian Tomlin, Senior Associate Dean for Faculty and Research
Sally Jaeger, Associate Dean, MBA Program
Dartmouth has formed a high-level task force to plan for and manage possible disruptions related to the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak, monitor federal and state recommendations, implement guidance, and communicate with our community.