Greetings!
Welcome to the Academic Affairs newsletter. Browse updates and announcements, connect to tips and resources, and check out stories from around campus.
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As we near the end of this remote Spring Quarter, the stress and anxiety that are typical as finals week approaches are compounded by worries associated with the ongoing global pandemic. Moreover, we continue to witness horrifically troubling and violent acts of racism perpetrated against people of color across our nation -- in particular, against members of our African American and Black communities. It is important that we each take time to reflect on what we and our fellow Tritons are experiencing, to acknowledge the impact, and to offer one another as much understanding and compassion as possible in this moment.
Amidst the challenges and heartbreak we have been experiencing, I am continually impressed with the innovation, dedication and resilience of our faculty, who have provided
extraordinary examples of gracefully pivoting
into a remote classroom environment. Similarly, I’d like to extend my deep appreciation to the staff of the Registrar’s Office, who very quickly re-built the Fall 2020 schedule from scratch with
new course modalities
that allowed students to plan their Fall quarter around a mix of courses taught in person or a remote format.
In the coming week, UC San Diego will graduate more than 9,000 students and recognize their accomplishment through a series of online graduation exercises leading to our
Virtual Commencement 2020 on June 13
.
Commencement represents the culmination of tremendous, sustained achievement by our students, often in the face of significant personal or financial challenges. I hope this year's Virtual Commencement can be a moment of joy and hope for us all.
As the Spring 2020 quarter comes to a close, I would like to reiterate my respect and admiration for the faculty and staff on our campus. These last few months have challenged us all to be compassionate, creative, thoughtful and resilient. Thank you for everything that we have achieved together as Tritons.
-Elizabeth H. Simmons
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Showing compassion during finals week
While final exams are stressful even under ordinary circumstances, the combined obstacles we face today -- including disruptions related to the global COVID-19 pandemic, the transition to a new remote learning environment, and widespread social unrest that highlights ongoing racial injustice in our nation -- call upon us to approach Spring ‘20 finals week with extraordinary empathy for all Triton community members.
As you prepare for final exams, please review the message that the Academic Senate has
In recognition of current extraordinary circumstances, the Academic Senate has also announced a special one-time exception for Spring 2020 such that
individual
students may opt to take a course pass/fail (i.e.,
P/NP
or
S/U
grading options) through the end of Week 11 (June 12)
. Again, details are in the
Support for Our Students During Finals notice.
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Fall instruction updates
Many thanks to our faculty, the Registrar’s Office, and others who have supported campus efforts to plan for Fall Quarter instruction and enabled us to achieve a flexible mix of in-person and remote course offerings. Registration by continuing students for fall courses is strong, at a level comparable to last year; as usual, seats have been set aside for incoming students, who will register later in the summer.
As a reminder, with the exception of In-Person Only courses, in-person attendance will not
be required for Fall Quarter courses: students, instructors and TA’s have the option to participate remotely as needed. Please review the
summary of course modalities
or the
Registrar’s Fall 2020 Classes FAQ
for more information.
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Supporting our financial sustainability with collaborative budget planning
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The COVID-19 pandemic has produced a financial crisis for the state of California, which is causing the state to reduce the funding it provides to the University of California. As a result, at UC San Diego, each Vice Chancellor area (including Academic Affairs) will have to reduce its ongoing expenses by 4%. All sectors of Academic Affairs, both administrative and academic, will be impacted by these budget reductions.
Adjusting to financial changes of this magnitude requires thoughtful planning with broad input.
No final decisions have yet been made about how the budget reductions will be achieved. In advance of taking any actions, a thorough consultative process will be followed.
On the academic side, a collaborative Summer General Campus Task Force on Budget Planning Guidance is being convened; it includes Deans, Chairs, Assistant Deans, Departmental Business Offers, the Senate Planning & Budget Chair, and faculty representatives nominated by the Senate Committee on Committees. It will work this summer in close coordination with Divisional Planning Groups in every General Campus division and the Colleges. In parallel, similar collaborative budget reduction planning efforts will be undertaken across the administrative units of Academic Affairs.
This collaborative budget planning process will be guided by key principles that include:
- Keep the core academic and intellectual mission of the university moving forward strongly
- Approach budget planning strategically and collectively, both within each division or administrative unit and across the divisions and the administrative units
- Think broadly about how to achieve financial sustainability for the long term
- Remember that the future is uncertain and there may be additional budget cuts ahead; retain flexibility to adapt
Future updates will be provided as the work progresses throughout the summer.
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The Office of Research Affairs and the Research Continuity Task Force have jointly developed extensive guidance and resources for the UC San Diego community about how to safely
ramp up onsite research activity
in a manner consistent with public health directives.
Active Directory sign-on required: Please use your @ucsd.edu login, not @health.ucsd.edu or @eng.ucsd.edu.
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Resources for remote final exams
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Remember, there are numerous campus resources available to help instructors and students with finals in our remote learning environment.
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Employees visiting campus
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Employees who are working remotely should continue to do so until their supervisor asks them to start working on campus again; during the summer, the default will be to do remotely anything that can be done remotely. In accordance with San Diego County regulations, any UC San Diego employee who must report to campus for business purposes (e.g. for ITS assistance) must complete a COVID-19
symptom screening registration form
and
symptom checker form
before returning to their worksite. Visit
COVID-19 Symptom Screening
to learn more about employee self-screening and
supervisors’ role in the process
.
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Class of 2020 Virtual Commencement
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The Class of 2020 will be the first in UC San Diego history to have a virtual commencement and partners across campus are working together to celebrate the momentous occasion for our graduates and their friends and family. As in previous years, we are offering additional ceremonies to commemorate the achievements of different student groups, like our
first-generation
and
LGBTQIA+
graduates.
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Reshaping the way we do business
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The campus is continuing to move forward with our Enterprise Systems Renewal projects that are significantly updating and upgrading major software to enable us to modernize our data handling and business processes. We completed the final wave of the rollout for
EcoTime
timekeeping tool earlier this month,
UCPath
went live on June 1, and we are preparing for the
July 1 transition for our financial systems
.
Visit the
ESR website
for more information about these projects and learn about other ESR initiatives.
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Take a Triton to Class
UC San Diego alumni cherished their time in the classroom—now we’re bringing them back.
During Homecoming Week, October 19-23,
UC San Diego is seeking at least 25 faculty members willing to host an alumnus as a guest speaker or open their classroom (or Zoom) for alumni to sit in on a class.
Faculty can invite their former students, or the Alumni office is happy to recommend the remarkable alumni they work with. Depending on health measures in place at the time, guests can be in-person or virtual, and the options are not exclusive—an alumnus can serve as a guest speaker and you can open your class up to alumni as well. This is a great opportunity to show your students the lifelong engagement alumni have with UC San Diego. If you are interested, please contact Paula Thomas ’87, Director, Alumni Career and Professional Development at [email protected] by June 30, 2020.
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Tritons Tutor
K-12 schools are struggling to find ways to create inclusive and accessible homeschooling curriculums, and it can be a challenge for families to access the educational resources their students need at home. Parents looking for supplement their children’s remote instruction are welcome to take advantage of the Tritons Tutor program, to connect with UC San Diego student volunteers for remote tutoring sessions. Visit the
Tritons Tutor website
to learn more about the program
request a tutor
today!
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UC San Diego provides lifesaving care with rollout of telehealth services and mobile life support
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UC San Diego Health was able to put in motion a plan to provide all of its healthcare providers with the tools and training they needed to convert in-person appointments to video visits. In just four days, they were able to convert more than 1,000 face-to-face clinic appointments to virtual visits.
Read the full story here
.
Some COVID-19 patients are so ill that ventilators are not enough and they need extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) to pump and oxygenate their blood. Unfortunately, not all hospitals have this technology. Over the last three weeks, UC San Diego Health has helped save lives by providing mobile ECMO either because the patient’s hospital didn’t have the technology or the hospital’s service was maxed out.
Read the full story here
.
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Todd Nguyen inspires Tritons to get crafty in the kitchen
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Todd Nguyen, a third-year Warren College student, started the Triton Spoon project to demonstrate how students can cook nutritious and delicious meals with ingredients that are readily accessible. To get involved with the project, reach out to
[email protected]
and be sure to follow @Tritonspoon on social media.
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Ben Carfano and Natalie Avina keep student voters engaged
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