Lost Instructional Time Due to Unplanned Closures/Cancellation of Classes

Given our location in Florida, the University is susceptible to the impacts of tropical storms and hurricanes. Additionally, as the recent COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated, other conditions may require the University to close and cancel instructional time. The top priority in such situations is the safety of our students, staff, and faculty. Therefore, if such situations occur, please heed all warnings and instructions of the University, local, state, and federal authorities.

To stay in compliance with federal, state and University regulations regarding contact minutes and students’ financial aid, the University must provide an appropriate full semester’s-worth of educational time to enrolled students. Additionally, programs of studies often require students to have assimilated knowledge and skills in one course to be able to successfully complete subsequent courses. Therefore, when class periods are cancelled, it is the responsibility of instructors to make up for lost instruction over the course of the remaining weeks of the semester. This page provides guidance to instructors on recapturing or otherwise making up for lost instructional time.

Step One – Prepare

Plan in advance and consider how you might deal with a loss of instructional time and/or a disruption in the semester schedule.

• Each of your syllabi should include a continuity of instruction statement that explains to students in general terms how you will communicate with them any instructional changes.
• Utilizing the Canvas course site that is automatically created for each of your courses is an excellent place to publish your syllabus and can, in some situations, serve as a “lifeboat” for instructional activities. Having it available in case of an emergency is excellent preparation.
• The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June through November, so it is particularly important that you consider possible disruptions to your Fall term courses.

Step Two – Assess the amount of time lost

Once the immediate crisis is over and it is safe to return to campus, please assess if you have lost instructional time in any of your courses and develop a plan how you will make up lost instruction.

Apart from the important material that needs to be covered in your courses during each week of the academic term, the importance of maintaining instructional time compliance is outlined in two key regulations 1) Federal Guidance (34 CFR 668.3) which requires that instruction happen in all designated instructional weeks on the academic calendar; and 2) UNF Policy (2.0810P Definition of a Credit Hour) which identifies the number of minutes required per credit hour over the course of the term.

In general, one credit hour equals 50 minutes of instruction per week for 15 weeks (please see UNF policy 2.0810P Definition of a Credit Hour). In some situations (e.g., when a hurricane causes only a day or two of closure), some courses will not have lost any instruction time. For example, a one-day-per-week 3 credit hour course on Monday would not have lost any instruction if the campus was only closed on Thursday and Friday.

In other situations, many courses will lose some instruction. For example, a three-day-per-week 3 credit hour course may lose two hours due to a Wednesday through Friday closure. That would equal a loss of 100 instructional minutes. Please assess the instructional time lost in each of your courses, recognizing that the amount of time that must be recaptured may not be the same for all courses.

Step Three – Consider methods to recapture instructional time

We have included options below on how you could make up lost instruction. These are only suggestions. As the instructor, only you can assess your instructional needs and come up with an approach that makes sense within the pedagogical limitation and scope of your courses. Possible options include, but are not limited to:

• Move the syllabus forward into the next week, including deadlines or assignments, tests, etc. If you choose this method, the expectation is that you will determine the best way to deliver your last week of content in an online manner before the end of term, keeping in mind the Final Exam schedule for the semester.
• Record lectures for the missed instructional time and provide those recordings to students over the remaining weeks. For instance, with three lost hours, this could be parsed as three 50-minute lectures, two 75 minute lectures, one 150 minute lecture, or a series of smaller lectures that cover the missed content. Faculty can use Canvas Studio to record lectures directly from a computer and publish those into your course. For additional information visit the Canvas Studio Guide or contact CIRT at cirtlab@unf.edu.
• Provide options such as threaded discussion, extended group work, or other connections that generate similar instructional interactions as might typically occur in the classroom for dissemination of course content. Canvas is a wonderful medium for adjusting assignments, hosting online discussions, facilitating group work, and communicating with students.
• If you are certain you will need a specific space and time to make up instruction then you may consider utilizing any available days and times contingent upon two important factors:
  
  1. Your students would need to confirm they are available for the proposed time and day. New days and times should not disenfranchise students who have existing time conflicts.
  2. You work with your course scheduling manager to make appropriate arrangements to utilize department-owned classrooms. If a General Purpose classroom is needed, a formal Classroom Reservation Request must be submitted to the Registrar’s Office at least three days in advance. This ensures dedicated access, safety, and transparency in university systems. This option is most likely to be useful with lab, studio, performance, or clinical sections that require specific resources.
     
     

Step Four – Communicate your plan

• Communicate to your students how lost instructional time will be replaced including a brief rationale of federal, state, and University requirements. For example:
  
  Dear students,
  I hope you have all settled after [insert tragic event]. Given the lost instructional time, we must develop a plan to cover the missed material. This isn’t my requirement but rather a state and federal requirement to ensure students receive the mandatory instructional time. Given that, here is the plan for the rest of the semester…
  
  
• When adjusting due dates, make sure to clearly communicate those new dates.
• Describe the changes to your course and course requirements and provide an edited syllabus and/or course schedule to your students.
• Although Canvas is an excellent way to disseminate information, please recognize that in some emergencies, loss of power and/or internet may make this communication mode impossible for you and/or your students.
• Because it is possible that universities will need to provide documentation to the federal or state governments regarding how lost instruction was recaptured, we encourage you to archive the changes to your courses in a safe and accessible location.

Additional Considerations

• Please do not forget to review the continuity of instruction statement from your syllabi and act accordingly.
• Please be flexible on due dates for assignments due during periods of disruption. For example, an extension of a few days is reasonable given that students are rightfully focused on planning for, weathering, and recovering from a storm. Do not forget that students may experience variable impacts, and all may not have the same resources to respond in emergencies.
• UNF students who are active-duty military, who serve in the National Guard, or who are employed as emergency personnel, may be deployed during or after emergencies that impact the state. We ask that you accommodate these students to the best of your ability.
• You can also consult CIRT’s page on Continuity Planning for additional guidance.
• If you have questions, it may be a good idea to reach out to your Academic Chair/Director for additional guidance. The Office of Records and Registration is also available to assist faculty.
• In instances where there is considerable loss of instructional time, the University may need to take a more formal approach to ensuring time and space are available for make-up. In these instances, Academic & Student Affairs will provide further guidance.

Understand that this guidance is subject to change as circumstances with any emergency are dynamic. The University understands that there is no perfect solution, and that in some cases recapturing lost instructional time can be quite difficult. We trust the faculty to use their academic expertise and freedom to make the best choice based on the needs of the class and students for any time missed.