RECAST | Fun and timely information: Summer School Proposals are due Sunday, November 1, 2020
From: Academic Deans <deans@evergreen.edu>
Sent: Monday, September 28, 2020 3:45 PM
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
Yes, it is that time of year again, and we are eager to see your undergraduate* summer school 2021 curriculum proposals!
We encourage innovative and creative curriculum program proposals, as well as proposals that support students in successfully moving forward with their path and other academic goals. If you are interested in teaching next summer, please enter your undergraduate summer school curriculum through the Curriculum Development link in your my.evergreen.edu (at https://my.evergreen.edu/offerings). If you are interested in repeating a previous summer undergraduate offering, contact Ruth Brownstein (brownstr@evergreen.edu) to have your previous offering copied forward for editing.
Because the hiring process for summer is entirely separate from the regular academic year, if you have been on adjunct contract during 2019-20 and did not teach during summer 2020, you will need to submit an employment application to the Summer School Faculty posting (http://evergreen.peopleadmin.com/postings/2669) in addition to entering your curriculum through my.evergreen.
Will summer school be remote, hybrid, or in-person? Our Magic 8-Ball comes up “hazy, try again.” Therefore, we are asking you to submit program descriptions that are deliberately open on the question, and we will prioritize developing a robust curriculum that can be taught remotely. The word limit is 100 words for a summer catalog description, and we will allow a bit of wiggle for the second paragraph on modes of learning; please include a version of that paragraph in your proposed curriculum’s description. Here is a great example, and we ask you to copy and modify the second paragraph to add to your description:
Neuroscience is a fast-growing area of biology, at the cutting edge of technical and conceptual advances. Want to know how animals touch, hear, see, smell, and remember things? Study ions, molecules, cells, neural networks, brain structure and behavior. We will start with the brain’s cellular computers: neurons––how they differ from other cells, generate electrical signals, and communicate. Topics include the physical and chemical bases for action potentials, synaptic transmission, and sensory transduction; anatomy; development; sensory and motor pathways; memory and learning at the molecular, cellular, and systems level; and the neuroscience of some brain diseases.
Whether remote or in-person, this offering will include lectures, workshops, and seminars. If remote, learning will include recorded lectures and video-conferencing workshop sessions and seminars. Our approach will emphasize participation in synchronous (live) sessions; however, if students find themselves unable to participate due to technology, caregiving obligations, economic disruption, health risk, or illness, they can work with faculty to pursue alternate options to earn related credit.
Space, schedule, and support: In general, we will design summer to be remote and make the moves necessary to pivot to in person if conditions allow. However, so that schedule-bound students can see if your offering will work for them under any conditions, please include your maximal schedule, as if teaching in person, as you work up your proposal in the curriculum proposal system. In addition, as usual, we ask you to have that schedule entered into Schedule Evergreen by November 1 but, for now, mark all activities as remote. Your class will show up to schedule in the scheduling system one day after you have hit the submit button on your proposal in the curriculum system as it takes the two systems overnight to communicate with each other!
Media Services: Media Services: last year, we asked for summer proposals to include specific requests for space usage and media workshops. This year, we ask that you to request only those services and equipment that you would request for a remote version of your offering using the Remote Media Workshop and Equipment Request Form. If conditions allow a return to in-person work in that area, Media Services will reach out for updated requests at that time.
One other change for this year is that we will not be soliciting or reviewing proposals from community members (in response to the current furlough situation and reduced administrative capacity). Otherwise, the process for determining our summer offerings will remain essentially the same. Curriculum proposals are reviewed by the Curricular Area Team leaders, path conveners where necessary, and curriculum deans, and planning is done in consultation with area managers and other stewards of college space and resources. We will work using the following criteria:
- Identify necessary curriculum for continuation and preparation of offerings during the academic year.
- Identify offerings that significantly diversify our academic year curriculum.
- Prioritize offerings that can successfully be taught remotely.
- Per CBA article 29.3.2 “Priority is given to current regular and adjunct faculty and to retired faculty.”
All proposals are due Sunday, November 1, 2020.
If you have any questions about the summer school proposal process, contact Tricia Bateman (batemanp@evergreen.edu).
Warmly,
Kathleen Eamon, Ph.D.
Summer School Dean
*MPA and MES are accepting graduate summer school curriculum proposals – please coordinate with the appropriate program director.
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Kathleen Eamon, Academic Dean, Evergreen State College
Evening & Weekend Studies | Summer | Study Abroad and International Programs
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