Academic Continuity in Emergency Situations

Authority over a program’s curriculum resides with the dean of the school. Recommendations for curricular changes and  modifications, as recommended by an appointed curriculum  advisory committee, are routed through the department chair,  as appropriate, and then reviewed by the dean before being  communicated to the senior academic officer at the institution  and the Office of the University Registrar. 

In prolonged emergency situations, substantive changes to the curriculum and admissions processes must be reviewed by program/school advisory committees and follow established approval processes. Examples include, but are not limited to:

  1. Modifications to course requirements to enable students to graduate as scheduled, or as closely as possible to the planned graduation date. Curriculum committees may allow alternative methods for demonstrating achievement of student learning outcomes and/or competency standards, as applicable. In many cases, professional programs follow guidance by their accrediting bodies.
  2. Adjustments to the length of the course terms or academic terms, if necessary, to allow students to complete remaining requirements that require in-person instruction and/or clinical education.
  3. Changes in grading from a graded scale (A through F) to a pass/fail option for a specific set of courses or academic term, due to limitations imposed by the emergency.
  4. Adjustments to admissions processes, including the acceptance of coursework completed under modified grading structures, such as pass/fail options.

All substantive changes enacted to support academic continuity during prolonged emergency must be approved by the Dean of the School and submitted to the senior institutional academic official for final review prior to implementation. Documentation must include the dates of advisory committee meetings as appropriate and executive summaries of the actions taken.

The effective time frame for such changes must be articulated in official university records, such as the Catalog and /or program handbooks.