Return to Campus and In-Person Teaching Reminders

To: Deans, Associate Deans, Deans’ Office Admins, Senior HR Partners

As the start of the Fall semester approaches, teaching faculty are turning their minds to the prospect of in-person classes as announced in this recent communication.

We anticipate that faculty and contract lecturers will have some questions related to students and masks, which is understandable.

In order to ensure there is a common understanding about what measures they can take in delivering their in-person courses and what can be communicated to students, we recommend speaking to Chairs/Directors about the following rather than sharing this communication, which is meant to serve as talking points for Deans, Associate Deans and Senior HR Partners.

Recognizing the variety of curriculum and modes of delivery across the Faculties, we are reluctant to set hard and fast rules regarding things like the percentage of class attendance decline required before a course shifts temporarily to online delivery, as specific application of these solutions to addressing COVID-related teaching issues will vary from Faculty to Faculty. Having said that, it is important to ensure that the steps that faculty and contract lecturers implement in the classroom are fully in line with the University’s return to campus expectations.

1. Masking
Faculty and contract lecturers cannot require students to wear a mask in their class. As well, they cannot require students who refuse to wear a mask to participate remotely. Faculty and contract lecturers may request that students wear a mask. They can point to the University’s official communication on the pausing of the mask mandate which states “We strongly encourage our community members to wear masks in crowded settings or in areas where you are working closely with others.”

2. Remote/Virtual Teaching of an In-Person Course
Faculty and contract lecturers who are assigned an in-person course cannot unilaterally change the mode of delivery to a remote/virtual delivery. If there is an outbreak where several students contract the virus and cannot attend campus, the faculty member or contract lecturer should speak to their Chair/Director to discuss the prospect of temporarily modifying the mode of delivery to remote until the class attendance can improve and the risk of transmission is reduced. The Chair/Director should advise the Dean of such a situation and ensure the Dean approves in light of the details provided for the change to delivery mode.

If a faculty member or contract lecturer contracts the virus, but symptoms are minimal, similar to above, they should discuss this with their Chair/Director and consider temporarily delivering the course remotely/virtually until their conditions improve and they can return to on-campus teaching. Again, the Chair/Director should make the Dean aware of the need to change the mode of delivery. If a faculty member or contract lecturer contracts the virus and the symptoms result in their inability to teach (or they have any other medical condition that results in their inability to teach), normal sick leave processes will apply and replacement teaching will need to be arranged.

If faculty or contract lecturers are delivering a course in-person but have a medical condition which they believe puts them at risk, they need to make an accommodation request through the Workplace Wellbeing Services office in Human Resources and cooperate in the process of having their medical condition verified to determine what the limitations and restrictions are to develop an accommodation plan. If they have a COVID-related family status accommodation request, please contact the Senior Human Resources Partner supporting your Faculty who will work with the individual and their union representative to determine if an accommodation plan is required. In both cases this might result in an accommodation whereby they are granted permission to deliver their courses remotely. Scheduling will be notified.

3. Office Hours
Faculty and contract lecturers may provide office hours in-person in their office or remotely. This is the same with respect to meeting with TA/GAs supporting their course.

4. Meetings
Departmental/School Council meetings, meetings of faculty members or meetings of committees (Hiring or Evaluation, for example) can occur in-person or remotely or a mix of the two. This semester will be a transitional one to some degree and depending on how it progresses from a virus spread perspective, you can encourage Chairs/Directors to ensure they raise this topic with the members of the department to get their comfort level of in-person meetings. If departments/schools wish to have virtual meetings or a mix of in-person and virtual, that option can be made available to them.

The bottom line is that faculty and contract lecturers need to understand that while they have some autonomy in their course delivery, they do not have the jurisdiction to mandate masks in class or change the course delivery mode. Ensuring your Chairs/Directors are aware of the above approaches is important and maintaining good lines of communication from faculty/contract lecturers to Chairs/Directors to your offices will assist in addressing issues early on and common approaches being taken across the Faculties.