Dear Faculty and Staff,

We have decided to suspend face-to-face instruction for the rest of the spring 2020 semester. This is following the advice of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and public health officials to reduce the density of the population in our facilities and make the environment safer for those who must remain on campus. We still intend to resume instruction using these new delivery methods beginning Monday, March 23. However, individual instructors who need a bit more time to transition are, as always, authorized to cancel an individual class.

The suspension of face-to-face instruction for the remainder of the semester allows students to make solid plans to remain away from campus for the rest of the term. And it provides our faculty and instructional staff more clarity as we ask so many of you to redesign your course delivery under extraordinarily difficult circumstances.

We know this situation is stressful and unsettling for our students, staff and faculty. As you work to utilize alternative forms of delivery for your course materials, we urge you to be mindful of the challenges our students will face as they attempt to complete the semester through remote instruction. Instructors might find information provided here helpful in your migration from face-to-face delivery.

We are also working with our colleges to identify and remove administrative or logistical barriers to make it easier for our faculty and instructional staff to adjust their course-delivery practices in ways that will help our students engage and succeed. We want to give instructors the resources and flexibility to provide the outstanding educational experience Illinois promises our students. And we want to find ways to make it easy to put fairness and compassion into evaluative decisions. 

We are working through academic policy details associated with the transition away from face-to-face instruction. We will be consulting with the Academic Senate and communicating with instructional faculty and staff as these policies are finalized. 

Thanks for your work to ensure our students have continuity in their academic experience. We understand that the quickly evolving situation is challenging for everyone. The health and wellness of our campus community remains our highest priority.

We know we are asking you to take on an enormous additional responsibility to continue providing the certainty of a world-class education while everything else seems to be changing daily. I am confident that our students are in the very best hands possible.

With gratitude,

Andreas C. Cangellaris
Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Provost