I am writing to you because I have heard from students that some faculty are opting to hold their hybrid or in-person classes completely online. Faculty may not change the modality of a course. For in-person classes, as soon as they are cleared to meet on campus, they are expected to meet on campus for the rest of the term for all class meetings, barring emergencies like last week’s hurricane. This is pursuant to the guidelines set by CUNY Central, which involves regular review of the number of vaccinated and unvaccinated students in each classroom. We are monitoring vaccination rates to ensure that all classes are scheduled in classrooms that have sufficient space to allow social distancing for unvaccinated students, and also moving classes from spaces that were damaged by Hurricane Ida. Some classes might need to be relocated, or as a last resort, held online for a short time until more student status is verified. Hybrid classes are expected to have an in-person component and not to meet exclusively online. We realize that changes in circumstances may mean some alteration in plans, but nonetheless, as soon as a hybrid class is cleared to meet on campus, you should begin implementing that in-person experience as outlined in the original course syllabus. All hybrid courses must have some on-campus experiences, and students cannot be exempted from these.
Thank you for your cooperation.
By Michael Parrish
