This message was sent to faculty on March 11, 2020
Dear Duke Faculty:
As you know, university leadership recently announced that Duke is extending Spring Break for one week. In addition, beginning March 23 until further notice the university is suspending all in-person classes and is moving to distance and other remote learning options.
We recognize that teaching under these circumstances will take many different forms, from independent reading and writing to synchronous and online lectures and discussions. Multiple forms of remote delivery are possible for meeting your course objectives. You will be the best guide for your students as to the most appropriate ways to carry on intellectual life under difficult circumstances. Although you will hear directly from your dean and departmental leaders regarding any specific instructions relevant to your particular unit, please know that we will provide as much information and guidance as possible to enable delivery of your course content.
A full set of guidelines, recommendations, technical advice and an FAQ will be available at a continually updated website later this week. On this website, you’ll find specific guidance for getting started, communicating with students, distributing courses materials, assignments and assessments, class meetings online, and building an engaged online learning community, should you opt for digital delivery. We will also provide alternative suggestions and examples for teaching your classes.
We are also working on help-desk and consultation services, which will go live before Monday, March 16.
Your students also received a message last evening: “We know that you all likely have many questions—about courses, your residences, co-curricular experiences, and other commitments. Our teams are collating a list of answers to these questions; we will follow up with you via email and make this information available on a website as soon as we possibly can. In the meantime, please know that we are absolutely committed to ensuring that all students can fulfill their academic requirements as planned.” The message also instructed those students who are out of town for break not to return to campus if at all possible. As we go forward, we will continue to share information with you that is being sent to students.
We know that this situation presents all of us with significant personal and professional challenges. It also provides us an opportunity to engage with our students in profound and intellectually inventive ways. We are here to support you in managing the challenges and embracing the opportunities.
Sally Kornbluth, Ph.D.
Provost and Jo Rae Wright University Professor