RECAST | Fall 19 | O Week | Resources and Reminders
From:Academic Deans
To: All faculty and staff
Date: September 24, 2019
Dear Colleagues:
Welcome to Fall Quarter, 2019! Please pour yourself a cup of tea and read this set of Resources and Reminders in its entirety, including links and attachments. This is your toolkit for getting off to the right start, and a resource to check back with over time.
Launching Fall Programs
Registration Tracking Forms: Be sure to return your Week 1 tracking forms (accessible from the Faculty section of my.evergreen.edu under “Class Lists and Evaluations”) to the Registrar’s office as soon as possible. Knowing which students listed are not attending your program or course is very important for those students’ future interactions with Registration and Financial Aid. An oversight at this early stage might mean entering a [false] “no credit” for those students later, which can have major consequences for them. (Please note that Rosh Hashanah coincides with the first week of class, as noted below).
On a related topic, if students are adding your program or course be sure they have completed the necessary paperwork through the Registrar’s Office. The deadline for adding or dropping a program or course is Friday, October 4.
Syllabi and Community Agreements: The deadline for submitting your Fall quarter syllabus and agreement is October 11th. If you have not done so already, please send your fall syllabus and covenant to us using the convenient Submit Syllabus and Community Agreement link from the Faculty section of your my.evergreen.edu page. Turning in your syllabus will help us support students, meet our accreditation standards, and better understand the overall state of syllabi and covenants across the college.
Guest Speakers/ Event Planning: If you are planning to bring guest speakers to campus we encourage you to collaborate with other programs to share those opportunities. To encourage these types of collaborations there is a budget that will provide some matching funds for guest speakers when two or more programs collaborate. See these guidelines for more information.
Supporting Students
Sexual Harassment and Sexual Assault: Please share information with your students about resources around sexual harassment and assault: Students can report online or contact Connie Gardner, the Title IX Coordinator in LIB 3216, titleixcoordinator@evergreen.edu, (360) 867-5224. Reports to Campus Police for on-campus criminal activity are also an option. Faculty are required to report information they may have about sexual harassment or sexual misconduct involving a student to the Title IX Office (contact information above); Employees in Student Wellness Services are exempt from this requirement so that they can provide a confidential space for students to discuss options about whether and how to proceed with making a report.
Field Trips and Gender Diversity: On campus, our trans, gender non-binary, and otherwise gender diverse students have typically figured out how to navigate housing, restrooms, and other spaces. On field trips, they often find that navigating for basic needs can be much more difficult. This should not be the sole responsibility of students. Please make sure to ask about restroom and sleeping facilities at places where students will be staying overnight. Inquire about facilities in places such as museums or conferences where students might be spending long days. You may want to survey students about their needs early in the quarter. Such a survey process can also help you determine whether you need to bring other students up to speed on how to support gender diverse students. Wherever you go remember that Washington law ensures the right to use the restroom that accords with the gender one is and lives.
The CARE Team: The CARE Team looks to colleagues across the college–and especially faculty–to orient students to the resources available at Evergreen. They encourage you to be familiar with services and make direct referrals to students for whom you are concerned. Making a referral online to the CARE Team will ensure that any additional actions offered by the CARE Team will occur. Those working most closely with students are often best positioned to refer them to resources. The CARE Team can guide you in making those referrals.
Administrator Response Team: The college has a team of people who aim to prepare for and respond to free expression events on campus. If you know of an event coming up, please let folks in the Deans’ Area know so we can best support our students and other members of our campus community.
Upcoming Events and Deadlines
Faculty deadlines for this coming year are available here. Also listed on the Deans’ Area website.
SURF Celebration: Please join SURF students and faculty for a poster session on October 18 from 3:30-5:00 in the Library Lobby. This will coincide with Return to Evergreen events.
The Fall Equity Symposium: The second annual Fall Equity Symposium will take place on November 14-15. This year’s theme is “Transforming Dialogue into Collective Action.” The Call for Proposals is here. Please encourage students to attend workshops, performances, and a panel discussion with Washington female legislators of color.
Faculty Grants: This year, the Faculty Foundation Grants will be increased to up to $10,000 each to support research or creative endeavors during leave without pay for fall, winter or spring quarters of 2020-21. Sponsored Research Grants will be awarded as before (to be awarded in summer or during the academic year). Sponsored Research and Faculty Foundation Grant Applications are due October 25 by 5:00pm (No late applications accepted).
Sabbatical Applications are due on December 15, by 5:00pm for the Academic Year 21-22. Please see separate email (sent on 9/20) from Trevor Speller.
Policy Reminders
Holidays for Reasons of Faith and Conscience: Following an earlier message we sent this summer, we want to clarify state policy on Holidays for Reasons of Faith and Conscience. Some of you will remember hearing about similar legislation a year ago, RCW 28B.10.039, which directed us to accommodate two holidays for reasons of faith or conscience and did not include the directive that the policy be included in our syllabi. The substitute bill, Substitute Senate Bill 5166, does not cap the number of such holidays and requires us to publicize the policy in our syllabi. Please review and adjust your syllabi accordingly. Rosh Hashanah, for example, begins the evening of Sunday, September 29, and ends in the evening of Tuesday, October 1. This means that students may potentially miss the first two days of class for this reason. Please do not drop students from your class or program unless you are sure it is not for this reason.
Academic Statements: Fall is the season when full-time programs include at least 6 hours of in-program work on the Academic Statement. Half-time programs should include at least three hours during the quarter. Consider using the academic statement as an occasion for one-on-one conversations about students’ needs, hopes, and academic direction. Resources for in-program work are on the Academic Statement Canvas page. If you have questions, you can always email the Mentor Council.
No Smoking: Please remind your students about the College’s no smoking policy. Cigarette smoke negatively impacts the health and environment for many, especially as HVAC systems bring smoke into classroom buildings.
Thanks for attending to all of these reminders. We are here to support you. Let us know how.
The Academic Deans | 360.867.6810
Karen Gaul | Larry Geri | Kathleen Eamon | Greg Mullins | Therese Saliba | Trevor Speller
