Instructional Continuity

Instructional Continuity is planning for times when, for various reasons, there has been a disruption to your usual mode of instruction.  It is important that every instructor pre-plan for these events.

A wide range of potential emergency and health-related situations can arise. While we cannot predict them, it is best to consider them and inform your students about potential policies to accommodate them before instruction begins. This includes course policies, communication channels, and emergency procedures.  The most likely disruptions result in instructors (including yourself, TA’s, and/or LA’s) and/or students not being able to access the physical classroom or perform various teaching/learning activities (due to anything from illness to a power outage, to fire, etc.).

It is highly recommended to have:

1) A clear communication plan in your syllabus regarding updated course policies or practices in cases where access to the classroom is limited.

2) If circumstances outside the instructor’s control prevent scheduled in-person instruction, lost instructional time can be minimized with the use of alternative tools (e.g. Zoom meetings, video recordings, online engagement tools, etc.).

3) Design attendance and assessment policies to handle unexpected absences, (e.g., allow for a certain number of dropped assignments). Determine what materials, if any, will be available to students in case of short-term absence and how such materials will be accessed.

4) It is strongly recommended to designate a trusted colleague to have access to your course materials, including your Canvas page or the equivalent, in case there is the need for a colleague to take over your course temporarily and for you to have a clear plan for access to all relevant materials (e.g., course material, grade data, etc.) in situations where your TA is temporarily unavailable.

Visit our Digital Active Learning Strategies Page and OIT’s Educational Technology Tools to learn more about instructional methods and digital tools that may be helpful in your role as a teacher, a researcher, and a member of UCI.