Dear Faculty, The university administration and the AAUP are aware that you, New York Tech as a whole, and higher education in general, are facing unprecedented challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I wish to send sincere and many thanks to all of you who have met these challenges head on. Among them is the way we continually engage, interact with, and instruct our students. We need to provide instructional continuity with the same level of quality and rigor as in regular past times. During this Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT) situation, we must be able to provide demonstrable evidence of instruction, student engagement, and attendance, as we do in other ways when teaching in-person. The institution must be able to show students—as well as federal, state, and accrediting bodies—that we are able to provide a successful continuum of instruction. As you read local, regional, and national news, you’ll see student feedback on instruction and this emergency remote teaching mode—both positive and negative. We have been receiving some questions and concerns from various sources about possible lack of instructional continuity (e.g., absences) and/or quality of instruction and resources in regard to some courses. In order to follow up and address these concerns, we hope that every faculty member will be prepared, if need be, to provide a description of: How you are determining and recording attendance; How course outcomes are being addressed and by what assessment mechanism(s); How closely the course now follows the expectations outlined in the syllabus; and How and how often you are communicating with your students to provide updates, encouragement, or additional information. If you are contacted, we appreciate your cooperation in providing information in a timely manner. In addition, we are also cognizant that unexpected situations may have emerged (e.g., health situation), so it is important to reach out to inform us of such and respond if contacted. The entire New York Tech community is here to support your work. Help and assistance will be facilitated and provided by all necessary units, including, but not limited to, program offices (e.g., TBLS, CTL, IT), department chairs, and colleges/schools, to make your course as successful as possible for our students. Thank you again for your time and consideration. Sincerely, Junius Gonzales, M.D., M.B.A. Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Copyright © 2020 New York Institute of Technology