04 September 2009
Dear Colleagues:
Welcome back to the 2009-2010 academic year. It may turn out to be an unusual one since we face the uncertainty of the second wave of the H1N1 virus (swine flu). While the severity of the H1N1 virus in the coming months is extremely difficult to predict, it is very likely to affect faculty, staff and students. As a result, Wentworth has begun to take appropriate actions that have been described by Kevin Moore, Director of Public Safety, in his recent message to the WIT community and further described on the WIT flu website at www.wit.edu/H1N1. These actions are based on best practices as recommended by local and national health officials. We believe they will help minimize the impact of the H1N1 at the Institute. Please be sure to review the information on our website and check it regularly for updates.
Related to academic matters at the Institute, it is essential that you take the H1N1 virus into account throughout the fall and possibly the spring semester and that you plan strategies to insure continuity in our students’ academic studies when there are absences.
- Develop contingency plans for dealing with student absences due to flu, both during the semester and final examinations. Please be careful to avoid policies that encourage infected students to come to classes, labs or exams.
- Do not compromise academic standards; do think about alternatives for effectively accomplishing your course goals under unpredictable circumstances.
- Be attentive to your own health and encourage departmental planning to deal with possible illness among faculty and staff.
Since there are an almost unlimited number of scenarios that could develop, we cannot prepare for all of them in advance. However, we must be flexible and be ready to accommodate a high rate of student and faculty absences if that should occur.
I encourage you to share your ideas and concerns with your colleagues and department heads and to begin to consider possible adjustments that you may need to make in your courses in the future.
To date we are fortunate that the H1N1 virus has proven to be generally mild. With appropriate planning, we hope to minimize its impact in the coming months.
If you have any questions or suggestions, please let me know.
Best Regards,
Russ Pinizzotto, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost |
