A Letter to My Students (April 18, 2020)

My Dear Students,

Yesterday I had a meeting with my colleagues in the faculty, and we tried  to interpret the Board of Regent’s directives. There is a lot to unpack, considering that the College of Law  was given some leeway in determining how to move forward: The basics, as far as I can understand it from the meeting: 

  1. The semester is done - there will be no classes, no exams. However (see number 3) we still need to find a way to complete your education. 

  2. No one will fail for a subject taken this semester. You can either pass the course or drop it (so that you can retake it some other time).

  3. There are two timelines available for those who would like to pass the course:

    1. From May 1 to June 16, 2020  - for those graduating students who need to complete course requirements in order to be endorsed for graduation;

    2. Until May 31, 2021 - for non-graduating students who want to pass the course instead of dropping it. 

The threshold question for me is whether there are those who need to graduate by June 2020. If there are none, here is my proposal for all of you:

  1. Everyone enrolls in an online class - it will have text/documents for reading, as well as pre-recorded video lectures and diagnostic exams. More details on how to enroll later. 

  2. I am arranging it such that other teachers and classes can participate  in said online class. This is for easier administration, and to ease the burden of the faculty as well. We will try to come up with minimum common coverage and then split the lectures amongst ourselves, pool exam questions.

  3. However - Even though we have a common repository of materials and activities, each member of the faculty is free to apply his own standards for who passes the course for his class. In my case - all you need to do is enroll in the online class and take the diagnostic exams. I will not fail you or ask you to drop if your scores falls below a certain threshold. 

  4. You have until May 31, 2021 to go through the online class, which will be self-directed and self-paced. Just go watch the lectures  and take the diagnostic exams, and you will get a non-numerical “PASS” for your grade.  I just need the data on where you guys need further help so we can structure programs to prepare you for subsequent subjects and the bar. 

  5. A possible variation - Your diagnostic exam results (plus your previous recitation performance) will be factored into a numerical grade (we are still confirming if the leeway granted to the College of Law extends to giving a numeric grade). At any rate, the principle that no one should fail this semester still holds and no one will have a grade lower than 3. Assuming we can choose between numerical grades or PASS/DROP, the class can elect a grading system at anytime.  

  6. Assuming we can’t give you numerical grades, and you (or your future school or employer) need some  basis for evaluating yourself against others, I can draft upon your request - a letter  stating my qualitative evaluation of your performance. 

So what do you guys think? Would this be workable for everyone?

That’s everything regarding instructional plans. The other part of our marching orders is to touch base and see how everyone is doing. Is everyone safe and well? Do you have ways to inform your classmates of your status? Anything interesting online?

Hope to hear from all of you soon.

Emerson Banez