• Course Time Conflicts: During the Fall 2020 and Spring 2021 semesters, the College and the Graduate School will waive the usual course overlap guidelines to allow students to be registered for predominantly asynchronous, online courses (for example, a course with largely recorded lectures) where both instructors support the student’s request for an exception. Students should note that courses with significant synchronous components such as live discussion sections will not be eligible for this exception. Undergraduate petitions may be submitted via ASK. Graduate students should continue to submit their requests through the time conflict form. Requests should be submitted by the last day to add a class without a fee Tuesday, February 2; requests will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the deadline. This exception was reviewed preliminarily in December 2020 and will be reviewed once again in May 2021.
• Virtual Shopping: Students will be able to access the published Canvas site for any course in their [email protected] (CAB) primary cart until the last day to add a class without a fee, Tuesday, February 2nd. “Prospective students,” as they are referred to in Canvas, will appear in an instructor’s “People” roster in Canvas. Instructors are encouraged to use the Zoom integration in Canvas if they wish to schedule synchronous meetings, because this will allow all students to access the links for these sessions (as well as session recordings if they are made available).

Please be mindful of the many different circumstances, including distant locations, of the students participating in your course. Your assessment of participation, in particular, should be adjusted to take into account individual student circumstances so that grading is equitable for all students. Helpful resources in this regard include the Sheridan Center’s guide on Fostering and Assessing Equitable Classroom Participation as well as the updated, learner-centered suggested syllabus language for communicating course expectations.

• For hybrid courses with remote and in-person students: Remote students should have the option to participate remotely during synchronous class meeting activities; this could, for example, entail the addition of Zoom web conferencing to classroom activities. However, not all remote students will be able to participate in synchronous class meeting activities. Instructors are encouraged to consider asynchronous online activities, such as Canvas Discussions, as an alternative means of meeting learning objectives. For activities such as in-class discussions, such alternatives would be preferable to distributing recordings; as described below, class recordings may be more appropriate for delivering pre-recorded lecture content than as alternatives to interactive sessions.
• Class recordings: In most cases, instructors are encouraged to record synchronous lectures and/or use pre-recorded lectures. When recording lectures, instructors may wish to consult DLD’s (Sheridan Center’s) best practices on the optimal length of video recordings for student engagement and learning, as well as Brown faculty suggestions about recordings). Recorded lectures can improve access for all students, including remote learners in different time zones. In course feedback from spring 2020, many students reported that recorded lectures allowed them to review class material with greater ease. If instructors do not wish to record because of the nature of class topics, they should consider alternative ways of making class material accessible for students in various time zones and with documented disabilities. (For information on copyright and ownership of instructional materials, please see the Office of the Provost’s FAQ on Course Materials Ownership). If recording will potentially feature students (e.g., in a Q&A session in the middle of lecture), instructors are encouraged to notify students in advance, such as through a syllabus statement or email. (See possible language in the Class Recording and Distribution of Materials statement.)
• Student camera use during synchronous meetings: Sharing audio and video during synchronous meetings may help contribute to a sense of community, especially in small classes. However, there may be circumstances in which it is difficult or impossible for students to show their video, ranging from challenges with technology and internet bandwidth to personal circumstances where it may be difficult to find safe and private spaces during class sessions. Therefore, for reasons of equity and access, instructors are encouraged to allow students to choose whether to have their cameras on during class sessions. Unless seeing students is central to key course objectives (e.g., to give feedback on techniques that require visual feedback), we advise against requiring students to have their cameras on. Instructors might encourage students to turn their cameras on but we suggest that this decision be explained to students (e.g., why an instructor feels that it will be beneficial to student learning) and that students be given the option to opt out if their context does not allow. Helpful alternatives can be found on  DLD’s (Sheridan Center) Guidelines on Student Camera Use During Zoom Class Sessions.
• Labs, studios, performance, and experiential learning: Instructors with research, lab, studio, or other experiential learning components in their courses may find these recommended alternatives useful. For various reasons, students may find several hours of continuous Zoom sessions to be challenging. These recommended alternatives may also benefit students seeking remote independent study, capstone, or thesis options. Please note departments must submit plans for in-person lab and performance class instruction, as described in the memos memos from the Provost on lab instruction and studio instruction. 
• Students experiencing difficulties: Instructors are encouraged to invite students to bring any difficulties they are experiencing with the format of the class to their attention as early in the term as possible. (For possible language, please see the available resources for Use of Technology to Support Your Learning). Information about Dean’s Notes is available on the College website.

Consistent with Brown’s educational philosophy and Faculty Rules & Regulations, the University will continue to allow both instructors and students to make choices about course grading options.

• Instructor Grade Options: Course instructors may determine that a course is mandatory Satisfactory/No credit (S/NC) up until the first day of classes.
  • Instructors should know that in courses offered on a mandatory S/NC basis, the instructor is obligated to write a Course Performance Report for any enrolled student who requests one. A student may request a Course Performance Report if they elect to take the course for a letter grade and the instructor may do so at their discretion.
• Student Grade Options: For all courses that are not mandatory S/NC, individual students will be able to modify their grade options until the fourth week of the semester. Students are encouraged to reflect on which grade option (ABC/NC or S/NC) would best support their intellectual and personal development. Students should also understand that employers as well as graduate and professional schools will likely review grades during this period within the broader context of the global pandemic.
• As stated in the Faculty Rules, instructors should award a grade of “S with distinction” to students whose performance would be equivalent to an “A” had the course been taken for a letter grade. While “S with distinction” grades do not appear on the internal record or official transcript, and thus are not visible to the student or external audiences, they are included in the calculation of Latin honors (magna cum laude) as well as requirements for programs that consider the number or proportion of “A” or “S with Distinction” grades.
• The College Curriculum Council recently approved new guidelines for determining eligibility for Honors in the Concentration. These guidelines affirm Brown’s unique pedagogical approach, including the ability for any student, including those pursuing Honors, to select the S/NC grading option for any course, including courses that satisfy concentration requirements.

• As with traditional Reading Periods, observance of the remote Reading Period is at the discretion of the instructor. Courses that are not observing the Reading Period should still meet remotely during this week.
• As always, during the Final Examination period, courses may not meet and instructors may not present new material.
• In order to ensure the timely submission of grades and posting of degrees for graduating students and to facilitate a break for students who are continuing on to summer study, all final assignments should be due prior to the end of the Final Exam Period (this does not, of course, preclude instructors from granting extensions and grades of “Incomplete” to students whose circumstances warrant additional time.)

• For reasons of access and equity as well as academic integrity, instructors are requested to offer asynchronous “take-home” (preferably open book) exams that allow students to choose any timed window within a 24-to-48 hour period, final papers or projects, oral assessments scheduled with individual students, or a series of smaller low-stakes assessments in lieu of a final exam. Instructors who wish to hold a synchronous midterm or final exam (defined as less than a 24-hour window) should petition for an exemption to a joint subcommittee of the College Curriculum Council and Graduate Council.
• For final exams with scheduled exam groups, instructors are encouraged to offer 24-to-48 hour window periods (centered on the scheduled exam time) for students to take their exams. This will help students coordinate completion of exams, especially those in other time zones with adjacent exams.
• Where practical for finite duration exams, instructors are encouraged to consider “overtime” exams, where the permitted duration exceeds the expected duration required to complete the assignment. Overtime exams can help to minimize the impact of disruptions and other external factors on exams in ways that can improve assessment and learning.