Information for Fall 2020 Classes

Important deadlines for Fall 2020


First Day of Classes: September 14
Add/Drop: September 30
Thanksgiving Break (no classes): November 26-27
Grade Option Changes (from or to P/F or A): December 4
Withdraw from a Course: December 4
Last Day of Classes: December 18
Final Exams: January 4-10

Fall 2020 Class Information

How can I shop for classes this fall?

Given public health concerns, NO ONE who is not enrolled in a course may physically attend class. If you are on a waitlist, you should attend class virtually. Use the zoom link provided in the course’s Canvas site, or email the professor for instructions. If you are not enrolled or on a waitlist, you must email the professor for a link to attend virtually.

What is the class attendance policy? 

Instructors have been informed they may not incentivize in-person attendance over remote attendance; we do not want in-person students to feel for any reason obliged to come to class when they are feeling ill. If your course is meeting in-person on a rotation model, with only some fraction of students present at any given meeting, DO NOT try to attend on a day to which you are not assigned.

Instructors may require that remote attendance be synchronous; this requirement should be established prior to the start of the classes. If a student is too ill to participate synchronously, instructors will provide make-up opportunities in the same manner they would deal with illness-related absences during a normal semester. 
 

Where can you go with concerns about your classes?

Wherever possible, you should raise any concerns you have about your course directly with your instructor. If that is not possible or was not effective in resolving the problem, there are additional steps you can take. Students are encouraged to discuss their concerns with their advisor if they have questions about next steps.

Arts & Sciences: Direct concerns to the Chair of the Dept in which the course is offered, or report here.
Olin: contact your four-year advisor or Paige LaRose, plarose@wustl.edu
McKelvey: contact your four-year advisor or Chris Kroeger, ckroeger@wustl.edu
Sam Fox: contact Georgia Binnington, gbinning@wustl.edu

Our processes are not able to engage with concerns surrounding an instructor’s judgment in grading/evaluating student work. Rather, they are designed to address concerns about the equitable application of grading policies or course standards across all students,  instances where instructors are out of line with university policies (e.g., holding cumulative finals in the last week of classes), or other such concerns.

Fall 2020 Class Logistics

Participating In-Person in a Hybrid Class

All students participating in-person must have completed their self-screening that day before coming to class. Your instructor may ask you to show your completed screen at the start of class, or for you to email your confirmation of the completed screen to them before the start of class.

Face coverings MUST be worn by all individuals in every classroom; students may contact Disability Resources if an accommodation is needed. The instructor may wear a clear face shield if such use has been approved by their school/department due to facial visibility being necessary for comprehension in the class.

Instructors have been advised that if a student in their classroom does not wear a mask and has not been approved for an accommodation, that they are to:

  • First, request the student put on a mask (a limited supply of disposable masks will be in each classroom),
  • Second, if the student refuses to put on a mask, ask the student to leave.
  • Third, if the student refuses to leave, the instructor would then end the class by leaving the room themselves. The instructor would then be advised to report this student through the COVID policy concerns portal.

Similarly, if an instructor refuses to wear a mask in the classroom, students should leave the class and report that instructor through the COVID policy concerns portal.

Entering a classroom

  • Keep your eyes open for building signage; some high-traffic classroom buildings/classrooms will have one-way corridors, or “enter only” and “exit only” doors.
  • Do not enter a classroom building more than 10 minutes before your class starts, and do not enter a classroom until it is fully vacated.
  • Hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes dispensers have been installed at the entry to every classroom. You should sanitize your hands and take a disinfecting wipe on your way in.
  • Try to keep 6 ft away from everyone!
  • Chairs have been removed or blocked off to enforce appropriate 6-ft distancing. When you enter the classroom, take an available seat as far from the entry as possible, to minimize students having to move past each other. DO NOT move chairs into a different configuration.
  • Use your disinfecting wipe to clean any surfaces you will touch during the class (desk, table, arms of chairs, etc.).
  • Get ready for some knowledge to be dropped!

During Class

  • It is allowable for students and instructors to spend up to 15 minutes of class time doing “proximity work”, that is, at distances closer than 6 ft. If this is a group discussion, groups should be no larger than 3.
  • If an instructor is wearing a face shield, they MUST put on a mask to circulate around the classroom and/or come within 6 ft of students. Remind them if they forget!
  • Give grace to your instructors and peers when possible; it may take a week or two to settle into this new classroom dynamic, including the involvement of remote participants.  It may also be hard to judge the tone or intent of comments without the visual facial cues we are used to.  Ask for clarification if you’re unsure.

Exiting Class 

  • Since passing time has been increased to 15 minutes, instructors will dismiss the class promptly at :15 or :45 past the hour. Feel free to begin packing up to leave at the class end time in the unlikely event that your instructor just keeps talking. It may take time to get used to 5 fewer minutes!
  • Students and instructors should not linger in classrooms but should vacate promptly, maintaining 6 ft distances.
  • If you want to ask a question of the instructor, please remember to keep 6 ft distance; ideally, wait to ask the question until you are outside the building, or ask questions in your instructor’s virtual office hours.

For additional, school-specific information on Fall ‘20 classes, please visit the below links: