Message About Summer 2020 Classes
Below is an announcement sent out to current students about Summer 2020 classes.
Dear Students,
I hope this message finds you safe and well.
Undoubtedly, this summer will be unlike any other. Boston University recently announced that all Summer 1 and Summer 2 courses will be delivered remotely this year due to the ongoing impact of the global COVID-19 outbreak. If you have not yet had the opportunity to read President Brown’s communication on this topic or the BU Today article that provides additional detail, I encourage you to do so.
The Summer Term office is working diligently with University leadership, faculty members, and multiple educational technology groups to ensure a smooth transition to remote learning. Over 700 courses that were previously planned for in-person instruction will now be offered remotely. This means that wherever you are this summer, you will be able to continue your studies at BU.
The vast majority of those 700 courses will have classes that meet synchronously—according to the meeting schedule currently showing on the Summer Term website and the Link. For example, if your course was already scheduled to meet during Summer 1 on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 am to 12:30 pm EDT, you should expect to attend classes remotely on those same days and times. While reasonable accommodations may be made by instructors for students residing outside of the Eastern Daylight Time Zone this summer, please plan to log into your classes at their scheduled meeting times.
For a small number of courses, the move to remote learning will require some adjustments to the current schedule. As we work with faculty members to determine what changes need to be made, the Summer Term office will communicate directly with students who are registered for the impacted courses. We expect that in most cases the changes will be minimal. Our priority is to minimize additional disruptions wherever possible, during what is already a very disruptive time for students.
Courses that had been scheduled for online delivery prior to Tuesday’s announcement will be delivered as planned. Online courses are typically designated by a section code that begins with an “O” (e.g. OL, O1, O2).
We know that you likely will have many questions about remote learning in the summer, and you are welcome to contact us at any point. Over the next weeks and months, we will be continuously updating our Summer Term website with resources for students. Information about the University’s ongoing response to COVID-19 is available on BU’s centralized website. Please also visit the Learning Remotely webpage developed by the University to confirm that you have access to the equipment and software you will need to participate in remote classes.
Although Summer Term this year is going to look very different than any of us expected, I am heartened to think about our resilient community of students and faculty who will continue the important work of learning together, even at a distance.
Warmly,
Erin Salius, PhD
Asst. Dean & Director, ad interim
Boston University Summer Term