To the New York Tech Faculty, Our spring semester was completely altered by the fast-moving COVID-19, and I offer you deep gratitude, respect, and recognition for your unwavering support and action to shift quickly to emergency remote teaching, engaging your students with new methods and showing deep concern for them. While I cannot name all team members in the following groups that made the seemingly impossible possible, kudos are due to the Technology Based Learning Systems, Information Technology (e.g., Academic Computing and Service Central), and the Center for Teaching and Learning. The dedicated staff of Advising and Enrichment, Student Life, Career Services, and Libraries (among others) also provided much-needed aid to our students. And our students noticed! (I'll return to students' reactions to the help they received.) Yes, we did much that was good in helping our students complete this past semester, but the real work is just starting. Much in our communities, networks, and personal and professional lives has been impacted. Loved ones have become seriously ill, friends and family lost jobs, our beloved city and Long Island neighborhoods are boarded up, and our regular routines have been disrupted. In addition to COVID-19 challenges, we are now faced with tragedies across the nation borne of ignorance and racism that touch us all. We, as did so many other institutions of higher education, were successful in transitioning more than 1,500 sections into remote teaching and can now highlight many successes, lessons learned, and some cautionary reflections (e.g., using Zoom breakout rooms, as many as 10 at a time, requires forethought and practice). As you may recall, we opted not to proceed with traditional student course evaluations for the spring semester. Instead, we surveyed our students to better understand the impact of the pandemic on their lives and learning as well as what they value in instruction going forward. Nearly 2,000 students(!) completed the survey, and I share some high-level highlights I hope will affect how you teach with technologies and make your courses better than ever. This is an opportune time for developing new skills, deepening knowledge about pedagogies, and applying them to optimize your students' learning experiences. Some training and learning opportunities being offered this summer and beyond are detailed below. STUDENT SURVEY: SOME RESULTS Undergraduate Students 957 undergraduates, evenly split across four years, responded, with approximately 45% in New York City and 54% in Long Island. Students reported changes (little to no, moderate, very significant) in certain areas of their lives, and here are the combined and separate percentages of those who answered moderate and very significant: Family Concerns (e.g., caring for family, child care): 69.3% (36.2%M/33.1%VS), 605 students Financial Concerns (e.g., loss of jobs, limited support): 74.06% (32.9%M/41.1% VS), 651 students Health Impacts (e.g., physical, emotional): 68.7% (38%M/30.7%VS), 604 students Housing Concerns (e.g., loss/uncertainty): 31.53% (19.6%M/11.9%VS), 273 students Use of Academic Support Services Academic Advising: 53% (440 students) used; 82.3% rated as moderately, very, or extremely helpful. Academic Tutoring: 17.5% (143 students) used; 83.8% rated as moderately, very, or extremely helpful. Remote Library Services: 27.8% or (227 students); 87.5% rated as moderately, very, or extremely helpful. GOING FORWARD, please see what remote learning features undergraduate students rate as important – features YOU CAN IMPLEMENT! The Question: Thinking about your future coursework, how important are each of the following to you when learning remotely? Responses are reported for moderately, very, and extremely important. Virtual Classroom Discussion: 80.2% (666 students) rated as moderately, very, or extremely important (31.5%M/29.3%V/19.4%E) Regular Communications about My Performance in the Course: 90.2% or 754 students rated as moderately, very, or extremely important (22.5%M/36.7%V/31.0%E) Professors Record and Post Lectures that are Accessible on the Internet: 91.8% or 769 rated as moderately, very, or extremely important (11.8%M/28.3%V/51.7%E) Professors Record and Post Short Videos that are Accessible on the Internet: 89.6% or 749 students rated as moderately, very, or extremely important (18.2%M/28%V/43.4%E) Regular Virtual Office Hours: 83.5% or 696 students rated as moderately, very, or extremely important (33.5%M/28.2%V/21.8%E) Collaboration with Other Students: 72.9% or 608 students rated as moderately, very, or extremely important (28.4%M/21.2%V/20.3%E) Graduate Students 917 master's students (48% in year 1, 38% year 2, 5% year 3) responded, with about 29% in New York City, 20% in Long Island, and 41% in Vancouver. Results for our graduate students were very similar to those of undergraduates. See more graduate student survey data. TAKEAWAYS FROM THE SURVEY: MOVING INTO THE “NEXT NORMAL” Active engagement with and participation by students in remote learning environments are critical. We have heard of situations where no remote contact, except through passive emails, was done in a course. Another course canceled classes for three weeks of the semester. National surveys of students show that they are dissatisfied when a class is exclusively a Zoom lecture with no opportunities for engagement, and instructors lecturing exclusively via Zoom for ALL sessions for the whole semester (i.e., this technique is not acceptable). Many challenges remain as we move into a fall semester of uncertainty. To help set a context for where we are and where Higher Ed is headed, I hope you take the time to read the following articles on enrollments, the complexity of logistics, and other realities: "Young Adults Likeliest to Change Education Plans," Inside Higher Ed (May 21, 2020) "Why Colleges Should Plan for an Exclusively Online Fall," Chronicle of Higher Education (May 27, 2020) "The Physically Distanced Classroom, A Day in the Life," Inside Higher Ed (May 27, 2020) "How the Pandemic Will Change Teaching on Campus," Chronicle of Higher Education (June 3, 2020) Fall 2020 will be radically different from what we experienced in fall 2019. Imagine a small sample of forthcoming realities: Continued physical distancing. Required testing (and how often) and temperature readings to walk on a campus. Profoundly constrained seating capacities (e.g., a 40-seat room for 17 students) and resulting classroom availability. Built-in times to clean rooms in between every use. We must also consider the vertical nature of the New York City campus, which will impact access and use. I urge you to review the CDC national guidelines for institutions of higher education and follow New York State's guidelines, which has four phases of re-opening; education is in Phase 4. Reading the tea leaves (of the above considerations), we will not be able to have 100% of our courses face to face for 100% of scheduled hours this fall, so we need you to use technologies in your courses beyond Zoom, and we will need to broaden our scheduling. Now I repeat myself: Active engagement with and participation by students in remote learning environments are critical. Examples of faculty instruction for heightened engagement and enrichment have been noted before. I encourage you to try things you have not yet used for remote teaching–even simple additions, such as active discussion boards or team projects that require synchronous activity, can make a big difference. See New York Tech resources: CTL Keep Teaching page and TBLS sessions. Given that we need to make remote learning a high-quality interaction, stay tuned for new resources and workshops for you, such as those offered from the Online Learning Consortium and Quality Matters. There are so many resources available that will align with your inclinations and aspirations as a teacher, including free textbooks such as Creating Online Learning Experiences: A Brief Guide to Online Courses, From Small and Private to Massive and Open. Consider the free iDesign course I mentioned in a previous email (and am enjoying as I prepare for my summer and fall courses). You even get a badge! As you review all I have shared in this email, know that I believe in you and your creative abilities to generate exciting possibilities we (you) might not understand at this moment (but will) that encourage our students to THRIVE. With two guiding statements from a national treasure, please consider that New York Tech will facilitate and provide support for you to get to your new possibilities: My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style. You can't use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have. –Maya Angelou As Paul Friga wrote in the Chronicle article referenced above: "If we don't prepare for the possibility, we risk complete chaos." While we continue to adapt, stay flexible, and be resilient, I ask for your help, in your work, to go beyond what you have done and assist our students to THRIVE, not just adjust. WHAT OUR STUDENTS ARE SAYING ABOUT YOU – PLEASE READ! In our student survey, we asked students to let us know about instructors who did well in the transition (there was no question about not doing well) and now have over 60 pages of those reflections to review! I want to end by sharing some words of our students (not the 60 pages yet), which make me proud of you. The Question: Is there a professor who did an exceptionally good job making the switch to remote courses during the spring 2020 semester? If so, please write their name and course below and describe what they did well. I want to thank very much Professor ___ for using the time of virtual class well and he was there all the time for us, students. Never any pressure. He is always understanding and supportive to each student. He is the best professor I have ever had at NYIT. He posts all materials on time and gives examples relative to the subjects we learn that day. He knows all types of engineering software and he is always okay with any software as long as we are comfortable with it. She was a dynamic teacher and gave a great class. That didn't change because of the move to on-line learning. She still brought relevant, thoughtful, and exciting coursework to the classroom. Discussions were very intense and interesting! Unlike some of my other professors, she did not change the syllabus. She understood that we are going through a tough time and she was very understanding about meeting the deadlines. Some of my professors decided to increase the workload which personally was challenging because they didn't provide us with feedback just a grade. Dr. ___ did not do this. She not only gave us fair grades, she also provided critiques that I could use to improve throughout the semester and for further down my career. She is one of the professors that I admire! See more responses. Once again, I send my sincere gratitude to you and appreciate your ongoing efforts. Sincerely, Junius Gonzales, M.D., M.B.A. Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Copyright © 2020 New York Institute of Technology