Updated on 11/19/2021
Draft winter schedule
The first draft of the winter schedule can be found below. We will be finalizing Zoom meeting times and plans for the Gateway class after Thanksgiving.
Click here to view the winter schedule (opens in a new tab).
After the Thanksgiving holiday, I will be emailing individual faculty to ask for your plan for tracking attendance for online hours (teacher verification or learner mastery). As part of this, I will want to see the actual language you will include in your syllabus. I will include guidance and samples when I send the request.
Updated on 11/12/2021
Part-time faculty winter preferences due next Thursday
The first draft of the winter schedule can be found below, along with the form for sending in your preferences. Preferences are due Thursday, November 18 by close of business. We hope to let faculty know their prospective assignments before the Thanksgiving Holiday.
- Click here to view the winter schedule (opens in a new tab).
- Click here to download the preference form (downloads).
Moving the WELL to the second floor of the library building
The campus has started discussions about consolidating the WELL, the Writing Center, and the MALL into one space on the second floor above the library. If you are interested in joining the discussion, it's not too late! Email John and he'll connect you to the conversation. Otherwise, we'll look for updates from Ward or David. Who's David?
Welcome David, interim WELL coordinator
This winter, we'll meet David Rush, who is serving as interim coordinator of the WELL while Ward and his wife await the birth of their first child (any day now!). I've invited David to our winter division meeting, where he can provide the same types of updates that Ward has provided. David may reach out to you to visit your winter 2022 classes as well.
Updated on 11/5/2021
Results from the winter 2022 faculty modality survey
Thanks to the 18 faculty who took the winter 2022 modality survey. The survey is now closed. Full results have been added to the Faculty Modality Survey page (opens in a new window). Top-level decisions for winter 2022 include:
- Main campus, morning classes will be 2 days remote, 2 days in Zoom.
- Main campus, evening classes will be remote, with Zoom schedule still being determined.
- New Holly classes will be either hybrid or 100% in-person with the final decision made among the faculty who select assignments at New Holly.
- There is support for re-opening Georgetown in winter quarter.
Regarding the main campus evening classes, the survey results showed that three nights of Zoom was the most popular response followed closely by 2 nights. I'm consulting with the full-time faculty about how to consider the difference between the morning, main campus preference for 4 days per week of synchronous learning (2 in person, 2 in Zoom) and the evening preference for only 3 nights per week (3 nights of Zoom). I'm concerned about the inequity of expectations of faculty as well as the differences in the student experience.
Covid-19 Vaccine Student Attestations
More than half of our current, fall students have completed their Covid-19 vaccine attestations, making them eligible to register for winter quarter. That's a solid start! It's a lower percentage than the college is seeing overall, which is closer to 66%, but given the difficulty our students have in navigating ctcLink, this is great work.
Next week I expect to be able to email a list to each faculty showing which of your currently enrolled fall students have not completed the attestation. I'll ask you to work closely with these students to make sure we can register them for winter quarter. If students cannot complete the attestation in ctcLink, we have two optional strategies to offer:
- Mica Hunter (mica.hunter@seattlecolleges.edu) is a student success specialist who is available to help students finding the tile and submitting their attestation in ctcLink.
- You can ask students to complete a paper attestation form (opens in a new window) and deliver that form to the BTS office.
Please do not ask students to email their information to the BTS team, and please do not email paper forms as scans or attachments to the BTS team. If you want to use the paper option, students--or faculty on behalf of students--need to bring the physical, completed form to the office.
We may try collecting forms during CASAS post-testing, mailing forms to students (with a stamped return envelope), or other strategies as fall quarter comes to a close. Students who have not completed their attestation will not be allowed to register for winter quarter.
Tuition waivers through Talking Points
Just a heads-up that the BTS team will send a Talking Points text message to your students asking them for permission to waive their tuition for fall. We need a record from the student requesting the waiver. We will (and have) waived tuition for fall students during the pandemic, but this step is critical for state audit purposes.
Please tell your students to look for the waiver text and to respond "yes." The text should be delivered in the student's selected preferred language, but the English version will look like this:
No more fall drops
Please do not drop any more students for fall quarter. Enrollment services cannot process the drops, and when faculty drop students through people pages they risk errors on the students' records. If you need to drop a student, please contact the BTS front desk team.
Updated on 10/29/31
A snapshot from a fall hybrid class
Thanks to Judi and two of her students for sharing this picture from the daytime hybrid L2 class at New Holly. It's great to see students in-person again!
English language faculty survey reminder
Thanks to the 10 ELA faculty who have already taken the survey asking for your input on winter 2022 modalities. We have 19 ELA faculty this fall, so I want to encourage those remaining nine faculty to take the survey before it closes.
Click here to visit the survey page (opens in a new tab)
High School 21+, GED, ABE classes will remain online
Based on student needs, we have decided to keep GED/ABE/High School 21+ classes entirely online for the foreseeable future. Those programs enroll students who hope to complete their high school diploma, and moving the classes to either hybrid or face-to-face would block the path to graduation for too many students.
The faculty team is considering holding in-person kick-off events at the start of winter, where students can pick up their Chromebooks, get help logging into Canvas and ctcLink, meet their classmates and faculty in-person, and (maybe) grab a slice of pizza or have some other community-building. So you may see those students and faculty around at the start of the quarter.
Student Covid-19 attestations: A paper version is on the way
Several low level English faculty have mentioned that their students are struggling to get their attestations entered in ctcLink--or that their students simply cannot do it at all. I'm working with enrollment services and Georgetown to see if we can adopt a paper version of the student attestation for low level ELA students. I hope to have more on that soon.
This paper version will result in more work for the BTS admin team, so I really only want to extend this option to lower-level students. Registration blocks have already been placed on students who have not completed their attestations, but this should not impact us very much right now, as our most of our students will not register for winter quarter until December.
GED, High School 21+, and higher-level ELA students who want to register for a dev-ed or college-level class after November 1 will have to have their attestations complete.
Student Covid-19 attestations: How students can tell if they did it
Some students were asking faculty how they know if the college received their Covid-19 attestation. After a student attests, they should log out of ctcLink, then log back in. After logging in, they should visit their Vaccine Attestation screen and see that their information is saved. Below is an example of what it looks like for a student who attested to taking the Pfizer vaccine.
There's probably confusion because the "submit" button is still available. That's because, in theory, students may someday choose to enter their third Covid shot, if they get a booster. Right now, that's not required.
Multilingual Covid-19 Helpline
Thanks Zahra for sending around the link to the City of Seattle's multilingual Covid-19 helpline (opens in a new tab). As a reminder, the city is working with these non-profit, community-based agencies to provide home-language support for anyone needing information on the Covid-19 vaccines, including those who are struggling with misinformation or vaccine hesitancy.
City of Seattle Covid-19 relief funds
The city is also providing $16 million in direct cash assistance to vulnerable, low-income residents who have been impacted by Covid-19. Please share information about the Seattle Relief Funds (opens in a new tab) with your students or anyone who you think may be eligible and in need.
Decolonizing Education conference November 3rd and 5th
I apologize for the late notice, but I'd encourage you to consider attending the Decolonizing Education conference (opens in a new tab) coming up on November 3 at 9 am and November 5 at 5 pm. I will pay faculty at the stipend rate for attending, provided you show me proof of attendance. Click here to register (opens in a new tab).
Updated 10/08/2021
Student Vaccine Mandate: Non-FDA Vaccines
Some of our students are asking for help complying with the Covid-19 vaccine mandate if they have received a vaccine that was not approved by the FDA. The college will accept any vaccine that has been approved by the FDA or World Health Organization (WHO).
When students attest their vaccination status in ctcLink, they will have the option to attest to having received the Moderna, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, or other vaccine. Students can also select "other" to report having received WHO-approved vaccines, which currently include:
- SII/Covishield
- AstraZeneca/AZD1222
- Sinopharm
- Sinovac-CoronaVac
I drew this information from this WHO website (opens in a new tab), and I'll provide updates as they are available. The SII/Covisheild is described as manufactured in India, so students may describe it that way. Sinopharm and Sinova-CoronaVac are manufactured in China, and we already have students saying they received the "Chinese vaccine."
I don't know if ctcLink requires students who choose "other" to name of the vaccine they received, but I do believe it asks for date(s). If anyone has had students enter these vaccines, let me know how it worked so I can provide more guidance if needed.
Student Vaccine Mandate: Use respect and caution
Two faculty, separately, asked students in their whole class to bring their vaccine cards to class so they could enter the information as a class exercise. In one class, the question worked fine. In the other, two students identified that they had yet been vaccinated, which caused discomfort and fear among the class.
This is tricky! Please help your students with this requirement. Please also look to help them in ways that do not cause students to reveal their individual status. Perhaps do this with student cameras off in Zoom, where individuals who are not vaccinated cannot readily reveal their status to the whole class. Perhaps do this one-on-one in person, where you can grant individual students an opportunity to maintain their privacy--even from you--while you offer guidance and support.
I know this is hard, but the faculty member who witnessed the negative response from the class thought it was a story worth sharing. If you have advice for others, please share.
Do not move students from class to class...
...without first checking with the front office. Moving students in ctcLink is not as easy as it was in the legacy system. Also, several classes are full, so we may not have room in a class that's desired. Finally, we are contractually limited in how we move ORIA students. Check with the front office before you promise a student that they can move. It might not be possible!
Student ID cards are not available
Just a heads-up that ID cards are currently not available, and one student took several buses to come to campus just to be disappointed. Please check before telling a student that a service is available on campus. The BTS office team can help.
Winter class surveys coming soon
As we did in the spring, I will survey faculty and students about their desires for winter (online, hybrid, and in-person) before creating the winter schedule. I hope to have a draft of the schedule in late October or early November, so I plan to put out these surveys as early as next week. The turn-around will be quick!
Updated on 9/29/2021
Division meeting recordings
It was good to see everyone at the division meetings. Recordings of the meetings are provided to those who were not able to attend.
- Click here (opens in a new tab) to view the Fall 2021 All-Faculty Division Meeting
- Click here (opens in a new tab) to view the supplemental meeting for Fall 2021 Hybrid faculty
Training on reporting remote/hybrid attendance: Sign up by Friday
As part of the division meeting, I covered the two examples of ways you can report attendance for CANVAS or similar work done in remote and hybrid classes. The SBCTC is providing a training on Wednesday, October 6 from 10 am to 12 noon. To attend you must register by this Friday at 12 noon. I can pay faculty at the stipend rate for attending. Just ask the SBCTC to give you proof of attendance and provide that to me.
- Click here (opens in a new tab) to register for the training
- Click here (opens in a new tab) for SBCTC guidance
- Click here (opens in a new tab) to view a Q&A document from the SBCTC
What to do if someone reports Covid-19-like symptoms
Nearly everyone will likely be on campus at some point this fall, whether teaching, administering the CASAS, or simply using the copy room. To that end, I want everyone to know what to do if you encounter someone who may have contracted Covid-19. The short answer is to ask that individual to go home immediately and to contact Health and Safety.
What to do if someone reports Covid-19-like symptoms (opens in a new tab) is a document provided by Health and Safety describing the protocol in detail.
We will not take actions--such as declaring a quarantine--on a report of Covid-19 symptoms until it is confirmed by Health and Safety. However, I will support decisions made by faculty who use good judgment, such as ending a class early if you that a report has enough merit that such an action is in the best interest of upholding health and safety.
Help student get a Chromebook
If any of your students need a loaner Chromebook from the college, you can request one for them by filling out the form on this page (opens in a new tab). Faculty must request on behalf of students so IT has a reasonable assurance that the student is attending and in good standing. The college is also trying to loan students wi-fi hot spots, though the supply of hot spots may be limited. Amber can help with this process.
We are full! Drop your no-show students!
Enrollment for fall is complete, and even spots into the late-enrolling Gateway class and late-enrolling session at New Holly are nearly all gone. Please drop any no-show students who have not contacted you to make other arrangements, so we can place these late-enrolling students into your class.
As usual, we will stop with late-enrollment from the Gateway and late EIs next week, so you should have your final roster by the end of next week or early week 3. We will be enrolling ORIA students throughout the quarter so we can remain in good standing with our ORIA contract. I will be personally contacting faculty about these enrollments to make sure we accommodate these students and meet our commitment to this important funder.
Updated on 9/24/2021
Help Your Students Find Their ctcLink/CANVAS Log-in
As a reminder, new students will need to set up their ctcLink ID and password in order to log into CANVAS, because they will use the same password for both systems. Below are two helpful videos designed to show ESL students what they need to do. Thanks to Jill who recently sent these around to everyone. I wanted to include them here, too.
The first video is shorter for students with stronger digital literacy skills.
The second video spends more time describing how to set up the "password recovery security questions," for students who need more detailed guidance.
Help Your Students Complete Their Vaccine Attestation
As noted below, students will also need to enter their vaccine status in ctcLink by November 1. They will need their password (see the videos above). With the password and ctcLink ID in hand, they can enter their vaccine status by following the steps in this video.
Click on the image above to access the video (opens in a new window).
Return-to-Campus MOU
The Seattle Colleges and AFT signed an MOU outlining the agreement for fall quarter given the continuing impact of Covid-19. We will discuss this in our division meeting on Monday. Please see the link below to view the MOU, fully signed just today.
Click here to view the MOU (opens in a new tab)
Updated 9/16/2021
Division Meeting on Monday, September 27 from 9 am to 11 am
We will hold our fall 2021 division meeting in Zoom on Monday, September 27 from 9 am to 11 am. There will be no classes for students--morning or evening--on Monday. Classes for students begin Tuesday, September 28.
Click here to join the division meeting.
Fall Schedule and Key Dates
Click here (opens in a new tab) to find an updated version of the fall schedule. I am still looking for an evening English level 4 instructor (12 credits, 100% remote). If you know anyone who might be qualified and available, email me.
- Faculty Professional Development Day is Wednesday, November 3rd (no classes).
- Assessment Day is Thursday, December 9 or after.
Official Covid-19 Guidance: Campus
There's a lot to share! While everything is subject to change at the stroke of governor's, mayor's, or King County executive's pen, we have enough information to help you plan for fall. I'm dividing this into official guidance and tentative guidance.
Official guidance comes from district. If you see an update from district communications, you should consider that the new, official guidance that supersedes former guidance, including what I provide here. Tentative guidance is subject to change until it's approved by the district. This describes what to do in situations where official guidance is unclear and awaits clarity or confirmation. To avoid confusion, I'm going to provide the official guidance exactly as it was provided to me (and hopefully to all of you) by the district office.
- Click here (opens in a new tab) to view the official email guidance to faculty/college employees.
- Click here (opens in a new tab) to view the official email guidance to students.
- Click here (opens in a new tab) for the district Covid-19 Vaccine requirement Web site for everyone--employees, students, contractors/partners, and visitors/guests.
- Click here (opens in a new tab) for the district masks/social distancing Web site
After you've read these, you probably have lots of questions. Before I answer them, I want to provide the official guidance on classrooms, since some of the questions might apply to both the classroom and the campus at large. Keep reading. :)
Official Covid-19 Guidance: Classroom (Hybrid English Classes)
We have an approved Return-to-Campus plan for running ESL classes in the fall, just as all classes and activities (student services, library, Alki cafe, BTS offices) must have. Our plan includes:
- Required mask-wearing for everyone while indoors, no exceptions
- Masks, hand sanitizer, and cleaning wipes provided by the college
- Lower class enrollment aimed at enabling 3-foot social distancing when possible (i.e. it's OK to violate 3-foot social distancing for instructional purposes, like helping a student with a computer issue)
- Protocols for reporting possible cases of Covid-19
- Affirmation that we will shift to 100% remote learning for 2 weeks in the event we are advised by district Health and Safety of a confirmed positive case of Covid-19 in the classroom
Click here (opens in a new tab) to read the approved Return-to-Campus plan for the classroom.
Again, you probably have questions. I'm going to begin to answer those questions below with an emphasis on guidance that applies to all faculty--both those teaching hybrid and 100% remote. Faculty who are teaching hybrid will need more direction than those teaching 100% remote, and I will provide that additional direction to hybrid faculty separately, most likely in a separate meeting following the division meeting.
Tentative (and Some Official) Covid-19 Guidance
In this section, I'll provide a Q&A covering questions I have received about the official college Covid-19 protocols. In certain areas, there are still questions that need clarification, so some of the guidance below is subject to change.
Are faculty who are teaching 100% remote subject to the vaccine requirement?
Yes. All employees--even those working 100% remote--are subject to the requirement. This is not tentative. This is decided.
Are students who are taking classes 100% remote subject to the vaccine requirement?
Tentatively, yes. This question is a subset of a larger question about which students are required to meet the mandate. Continuing Education students? Students participating in Corporate and Customized Training? We expect clarification, but we do not expect 100% remote students to be exempt for the requirement.
Even if an exemption is made, any of our students would not qualify for it, as we are resuming CASAS testing and, therefore, most 100% remote students must visit campus at least twice a quarter--for pre- and post-testing. More on that, below .
What are the consequences for students who fail to meet the vaccine requirement?
At minimum, they may not be allowed to register for winter quarter. There is still discussion about whether there would be consequences for fall. To be clear, then, we are enrolling students for fall quarter who will not be vaccinated--and possibly who will tell us that they refuse to be vaccinated. These students will be enrolled for fall.
How will religious or medical exemptions be handled?
Employees can refer to the Covid-19 Vaccine Requirement for Employees (opens in a new tab) page on the district Web site. Students will claim their exemption in ctcLink. See the next question for details including a helpful video.
What resources are we providing for students to help with providing the required information in ctcLink?
We are developing resources and we'll pass them along as we have them. For starters, we have a copy of a video created at North Seattle College for our students, explaining how to enter the required info into ctcLink. To view the video, click here (opens in a new window). This may not work for all levels, but it seems to be a solid resource.
What resources are we providing to help students with vaccine misinformation or hesitancy?
The City of Seattle has contracted with several community-based organizations to provide culturally-relevant support in students' home languages. More on that, below.
Are there exceptions/exemptions to the mask mandate?
According to the guidance provided by the district, no. I am aware of conversations suggesting that students who need an exception to the mask mandate for medical reasons might be referred to the Accessibility Office (formerly Disability Services).
How will this work day-to-day in the face-to-face hours of my hybrid class?
There are several larger, complex questions that I'll address with faculty who are teaching hybrid in the fall. How will contact tracing/campus visitation forms be adapted? What do I do if a someone refuses to wear a mask indoors? What do I do if a have a reported Covid-19 case? I'll tackle these and other questions in a separate forum--likely a second meeting following the division meeting on Monday. All interested faculty will be invited to attend.
Unofficial Covid-19 Guidance: The Movie
On September 2, I met with several faculty to discuss in-person and other Covid-19 protocols for fall--based on the information I had in early September. Some of this might have changed, but I think most of it still applies.
Click here (opens in a new tab) to watch a recording of that meeting.
Official Covid-19 Guidance: BTS office
We are waiting for approval from Health and Safety for our plan for re-opening the office. We anticipate complying with the same protocols that apply in the classroom--masks, social distancing, etc. We know that the front desk on main campus and New Holly will have a clear, plexiglass shield--a difference between the office and the classrooms. We expect to open to the public, meaning the front desk will be open for drop-in, not by appointment. (Some student services are currently only available by appointment.)
We expect to be open to the public from 10 am to 2 pm Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday for fall quarter. Faculty work stations, the copy room, the resource library, and other things available on the third floor will be open to faculty.
Helping Students with Vaccine Hesitancy and Misinformation
The City of Seattle has contracted with community-based organizations to provide culturally-relevant, home-language support for overcoming vaccine misinformation and hesitancy. I'd like to invite these agencies to visit our campus--likely via Zoom--to share their information and to connect with students who need one-on-one follow-up. This will be a topic in the fall division meeting.
The organizations providing these services are:
- Amigos de Seattle (Spanish, indigenous Central American languages)
- African Leaders Health Board (Swahili, Twi, Portuguese)
- Friends of Little Saigon (Vietnamese)
- Lake City Collective (Spanish)
- United Communities of Laos (Khmer, Laotian)
CASAS is Back
We are required to resume CASAS testing this fall in reading only. Thanks to the EI team who pre-tested 70 students already, giving us a chance to make sure the computers and CASAS are all still working.
For fall quarter, faculty who are teaching hybrid classes will pre- and post-test during their regularly scheduled in-person computer lab time. Faculty who are teaching 100% remote will be scheduled to come to campus for one day or evening in week two or week three. CASAS testing capacity will be limited to 15 students at a time.
One day or night period can accommodate two, 75-minute testing sessions, so if you have more than 15 students in your class, you'll invite half the class to come at 9 am/6pm and the second half to come at 10:30/7:30. Because we pre-tested EI students, you will receive a list of students who have already pre-tested. Support staff will be available upon request.
Look for a separate email with the schedule and detailed instructions during the first week of the quarter so you can plan for your assigned day on campus.
Help Students Find You This Fall
Please give the front desk your spring course details, such as Zoom links or preferred contact info, that we can pass along to confused students who call the front desk. You can provide the info by clicking on this link (opens in a new window). This will open a PowerPoint presentation where you can edit a different page of the PowerPoint by providing:
Contact Your Students
Please also contact your students as soon as possible so they know who you are and when to meet you in class. While we're still adding students from the EIs, you should at least see returning students on your roster, and you can start reaching out to them today. We'll be in touch when rosters are complete, so you know when you can reach out to all your students, including the new ones.
Syllabus Requirements for Remote and Hybrid Classes
As another reminder, all remote (and hybrid) classes must have a statement in the course syllabus that describes how attendance will be recorded. Per federal guidelines, you can choose one of two methods for tracking attendance through remote learning:
Teacher Verification: Assignments have a pre-determined number of hours stated in the syllabus that will be awarded to the extent that the teacher verifies that the student completed the work.
Learner Mastery: Assignments have a pre-determined number of hours stated in the syllabus that will be awarded based on the students' mastery of the content. For example, 70% or higher mastery may result in full hours awarded.
Further guidance from the SBCTC can be found here (opens in a new tab). The SBCTC also provided this updated Q&A document (opens in a new tab). The approach you choose applies to all instruction that is not in-person, including Zoom or other online synchronous time.
ORIA Update: Open Enrollment for ORIA Students
We've long had a contract with the state Office of Refugee and Immigrant Assistance (ORIA) to serve students. In recent months, for a variety of factors including Covid, we have not met our performance measures, putting this contract at risk. The funds from ORIA make up roughly 10% of our annual budget, so we need to do all we can to keep this contract.
For fall quarter, I will be placing ORIA students in English classes throughout the quarter--even as late as the 9th, 10th, or 11th week. I realize this does not meet students' learning needs, but this is required by our contract. In fall, I'll also seek an opportunity to come up with a strategy that better meets students' needs.
This is a temporary solution, but we will need to find a permanent solution soon.