Dear Writers’ Program Instructors,

First, I hope you are doing well, that your loved ones are safe and protected from contact with the pandemic, and that despite the rapidly changing environment around us, your mental and emotional wellbeing are as cared for as your physical wellbeing. These are troubling and trying times. Remember your first responsibility is always to yourself and your family, and that the Writers’ Program, your students, and your courses should always come second once you are safe and comfortable.

I want to thank you all for working closely with the reps on moving classes online, or preparing to be online for all of Spring. I also want to recognize the outstanding work of the Writers’ Program staff, who have been supporting not only you, but each other, and me throughout the rise of the pandemic. Our strong personal and professional bonds are what will help us weather this crisis. These moments, for better or worse, show us who we are at our core. I am grateful for all of you for rising to this challenge and being the wonderful, supportive, and collaborative professionals you are.

Even as UCLA Extension strives to respond thoughtfully and effectively to this crisis, we are identifying opportunities for enduring change that can help us better respond to future crises, including earthquakes, that may affect how we operate.

We’ve just received word our entire program staff will transition to telecommuting tomorrow, March 17. I wanted to write and share with you how I’m thinking about our Spring Quarter operations and beyond, and to invite your participation in these solutions.

Enrollment

I expect a significant enrollment impact due to fears about the pandemic, even if our classes meet online. Our students have complex lives under even ideal circumstances, and now many of them will be juggling telecommuting or loss of work/income, searching for or managing childcare, and caring for loved ones.

Responses:

I have altered our refund policy to allow students 2 full weeks to request an unrestricted refund for Spring Quarter, and we will be generous with refund exception requests received after that period ends.
I will be canceling some Spring Quarter courses that will not thrive in an online environment. If you believe your course will not succeed in a fully online environment, please reach out to me and your rep to discuss cancelation.
I will be monitoring enrollment levels closely to consider canceling courses with 0 enrollments in the hope this pushes students into other open courses. Again, if you want to discuss this in advance, please reach out to me and your rep.
I will honor as many Instructor Comp requests as possible for you and your spouse to ensure our courses have robust learning environments. As we are within the approval period (2 weeks prior to the start of the quarter), I will be shortly approving all received requests for classes with available seats, and accepting new requests as well.

Operations

As we move to a fully virtual office, the staff and I will be available best by email. Our phones will be forwarded to our personal lines, but our priority is to keep these open for student calls whenever possible.

Responses:

If you need to speak with a rep by phone, I ask you please email that person first to set up a time to talk. As many of us learn how to balance institutional demands with student needs, I believe this will best facilitate our work and help you to the best of our ability.
Be mindful that, like you, staff may be ill, caring for family, tending to children, or ensuring their own safety first. Let’s please all work together in the spirit of collaboration and kindness during this difficult time. We care deeply for each of you, and each other, and I hope that will continue to be our guiding principle.

Technical Support

Our systems may struggle under the burden of a fully online institution. These hurdles are inevitable. It will be frustrating.

Responses:

Please take time to test your computer equipment now to ensure you can log in, set up videoconferencing if necessary, or can navigate Canvas effectively.
Be ready to refer students to the 24/7 Canvas support contact information (1-888-307-3065 or support@unexonline.zendesk.com)
If you are willing to be a mentor to other WP instructors on using Canvas, Panopto, or Adobe Connect, please email your rep and me. I can offer mentors $150 for serving in this capacity. This will be designed to ensure student support remains open through the Canvas service line, and experienced WP instructors, who understand how to operate workshops in the online environment, can best advise you on this.
If you can, identify a backup for any live virtual meeting activity. In the event our online tools experience an outage or other technology goes off line, how can you a) communicate with your students and b) conduct class when appropriate? What procedures will work best for you as instructor? Remember your students may not have the same level of equipment as you, so I urge you to think simply about what solutions may work—avoiding adapting to new tools, but perhaps incorporating free and widely accessible tools like Skype, Gmail, and so on. As much as possible, we need student consent to adapt to new tools as it may expose their personal contact information, so please get their buy in on any changes you want to make.

If you have any questions I’ve not addressed here, or have a need others may benefit from us tackling now, please do not hesitate to contact me. I appreciate you always copying your rep if you contact me. Many of you know we all sit together in a little pod in the Wilshire Building, so during normal business operations, we interact constantly throughout the day. As we move to remote work, it’s more important to keep everyone in the loop so that we can efficiently and effectively assist you.

I’m thinking of you. Please let me know what we can do to help you.

All best,

Charlie