Dear Department Chairs and Center and Institute Directors,

I’m writing to ask for your help as we formalize our academic plans for the spring semester. Thanks to your hard work, and to the dedication of faculty and staff at Brown, the fall semester has begun well. Thank you for everything that you and your colleagues have done to contribute to this early success, and for the support you’ve provided to students and to one another.

Course Planning for Spring & Summer 2021

Even though the fall semester is just getting underway, we need to look ahead and solidify planning for the spring and summer 2021 semesters. We continue to plan for a spring semester in which we are able to invite all four classes of students (first year students, sophomores, juniors and seniors) to be in residence for a combination of hybrid and online courses. Because our first priority is the health and safety of the Brown community, our decisions will be determined by public health conditions and guided by data. While a final decision for the spring term will not be made until later this semester, in order to be as flexible as possible, it is essential that we plan for all four classes of students, as well as graduate students, to be enrolled in courses in the spring. I ask, therefore, that you continue to plan your curricula for the spring and summer on the assumption that all four classes as well as graduate students will be in residence in the spring, while the summer will consist predominantly of first-year students. Graduate courses will not be offered in the summer.

As you review your previously-approved plans for the spring and summer, please consider whether you have a sufficient number and range of courses in place to maintain your curriculum, and whether all technological and lab-related needs created by hybrid and online teaching have been accounted for.  If you have unmet teaching or material needs for the spring semester, please list them in a single communication to your cognizant dean. I will ask the deans to assess any requests for additional funds before I review them.

While I hope and anticipate that all four classes will be in residence in the spring, if the public health situation deteriorates significantly, we may have to ask sophomores currently living on campus to shift to remote learning. In this case, sophomores may choose to continue to attend classes remotely or return to campus in the summer for a second in person semester. Either way, I ask that you continue to plan your spring semester courses as if all 4 classes of students will be enrolled.  I recognize that your summer plans may be uncertain well into the spring semester, and my office will work with you to ensure that you have sufficient curricular coverage for the summer session.

The course offering builder is already open for the spring and summer, and I urge you to begin filling in courses for both spring and summer terms as soon as they are ready, with the goal of completion by October 2, 2020. Courses@Brown will start publishing Spring and Summer 2021 courses beginning Monday, October 5 and will continue to update as courses are adjusted.

Things to Remember

The following are a few things to remember as you plan for the coming months, which we expect will mirror the fall in many respects:

• Your department may have newly matriculating international students arriving in the spring who will need hybrid courses available to them to be authorized to remain in the country

• Faculty may choose to teach courses in an entirely online format in the spring and the summer. Graduate students serving as TAs or TFs will have the same options

• All hybrid classes will continue to be offered remotely for students who choose to take them online, and all instructors of hybrid courses should be prepared to move their course entirely online if needed

• The cap of 19 students at a time in any classroom will remain in effect this spring and may continue into the summer

• Pre-registration for spring courses is provisionally scheduled for the week of November 16

• The policies for teaching laboratory and performance/studio courses will remain in effect through the spring and semester. See the memos on Laboratory Courses and Performance/Studio Courses. Safety plans will be required for any spring and summer courses that are not covered by existing, approved plans.

• As you plan your summer curriculum, keep in mind that many advanced doctoral students will be eligible for COVID-19 Appointment Extensions. As part of these appointments, they will be expected to serve as TAs, TFs, RAs, or proctors. They can play an important role in meeting TA needs over the summer.

Thank you, again, for your work this semester, and for your efforts to ensure successful spring and summer terms.

Sincerely,

Richard M. Locke, Provost