March 6, 2020

Letter from Provost Drell with COVID-19 updates:

Online classes; Admit Weekend

To our Stanford community,

I’m writing this evening with two pieces of additional news on Stanford’s response to
the COVID-19 virus.

In recent days we have seen the continued spread of COVID-19 around the world and
here in Santa Clara County. With the increased availability of testing, we can expect
that confirmed cases of COVID-19 will continue to grow in our region and perhaps in
our university community.

The public health guidance we are receiving continues to emphasize not only good
personal hygiene practices, but also minimizing close contact among groups of
people, as means of restraining the spread of COVID-19. We recently placed
constraints on large public events at Stanford, and now, in order both to help reduce
the spread of COVID-19 and to ease anxiety in our community as winter finals
approach, we are taking new steps regarding course instruction.

For the final two weeks of the winter quarter, beginning Monday, March 9,
classes at Stanford will not meet in person. To the extent feasible, we will be
moving classes to online formats in place of in-person instruction. Any winter
quarter final exams that were scheduled to be administered in person will need to be
administered in take-home format, complying with university rules for such exams.

We recognize that this is a significant adjustment for many instructors. We are taking
this step after thoughtful consideration, and I have been in touch today with the chair
of the Faculty Senate, who concurs. We are committed to providing the support to
help instructors in this effort. The teachanywhere.stanford.edu website has many
resources to assist, and further guidance and tools will be provided shortly through the
Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty Development, Teaching and Learning.
(Additional information also will be coming soon to principal investigators regarding
steps they should take with regard to ensuring research continuity.)
Given the timing of this announcement, we are encouraging instructors with a
scheduled class on Monday, March 9, to cancel that session if needed in order to have
the time to make the necessary course changes. In addition, we encourage all
instructors to email students in their courses this weekend to let them know their
course plans. For the balance of the quarter:

 To the extent feasible, instructors will be expected to make their course

content, including materials used in class, available via Canvas or other online
options.
 In some cases, when the nature of a class or exam is not suited to remote
delivery, other options, including submitting grades based on work conducted to
this point, may be used. However, instructors are encouraged to provide students
the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge at the end of the quarter, and CTL
staff are available to help instructors develop these opportunities.
 Faculty should consult with their department chairs in determining the most
appropriate actions to take, placing student health and success first in all decision
making.
 Where online instruction takes place, students will be expected to attend
classes online at their regularly scheduled time, though we will continue to
encourage instructors to be flexible with attendance and exam policies for any
students who are ill.

Though classes will not be meeting in person, the university will remain open. Our
existing guidance to employees remains in place. In situations where work can
temporarily be performed from home or an alternate location, we encourage
employees and managers to work together to identify possible telecommuting
opportunities. Many Stanford employees are needed physically on campus, of course,
and services for our community must continue. We encourage everyone to continue
good health practices that minimize the possibility of virus spread.

In addition, I want to let you know that we are canceling the in-person Admit
Weekend event, for prospective undergraduates who have been or will be offered
admission to Stanford, scheduled for the weekend of April 23-26. While we are
disappointed to take this step, we believe it is prudent given the continued spread of
COVID-19 and changing travel conditions. We will be working, however, to develop
replacement programming, and we’re excited by the possibilities for an innovative
and compelling virtual experience for our admitted students to the Class of 2024.
The Office of Undergraduate Admission and Financial Aid is also canceling campus
tours and information sessions for prospective students as of Monday, March 9, and
will re-evaluate its ability to host these offerings after April 15. The Visitor Center
will remain open and visitors will be able to take self-guided tours, but there will be
no group tours or events.

In closing, I want to thank you for everything each of you is doing during this
challenging period. Many people are understandably anxious about COVID-19 and
the unknowns that it poses. And yet, our community is doing a remarkable job rising
to the challenge: from our food service workers who are continuing to serve our
students, to the custodians performing more frequent cleanings; from the faculty and
staff rescheduling events and projects, to the dedicated teams who have been working
exhausting hours coordinating the university’s response. Thank you, all, for your
commitment to the well-being of our Stanford community. As before, please continue
to visit healthalerts.stanford.edu for ongoing updates.

Sincerely,

Persis Drell
Provost
1. confirmed cases (ph.) 確認的病例
2. hygiene (n.) 衛生
3. in place of (ph.) 代替，取代
4. in-person instruction (ph.) 親自教授；親自指導
5. were scheduled to (ph.) 原本安排
6. in person (ph.) 親自，本人
7. take-home format (ph.) 帶回家完成的(考試)模式
8. adjustment (n.) 調整；調節
9. be in touch … with (ph.) 有和…聯繫/討論
10. chair (n.) 主席
11. concur (v.) 同意，贊成
12. flexible (adj.) 可變動的；靈活的
13. attendance (n.) 出席的人數
14. exam policies (n.) 考試政策
15. ill (adj.) 生病的
16. temporarily (adv.) 暫時
17. telecommuting (n.) 遠端辦公
18. on campus (adj.) (在)校園上
19. minimize (v.) 使減到最少
20. Admit Weekend (n.) 入學周末(活動)
21. prospective undergraduates (n.) 未來的(準)大學生
22. prudent (adj.) 謹慎的，慎重的；精明的
23. replacement programming (n.) 代替的節目
24. innovative (adj.) 革新的；新穎的
25. compelling (adj.) 引人入勝的；激動人心的；扣人心弦的
26. Financial Aid (n.) 財務部門
27. campus tours (n.) 參觀校園
28. host (v.) 主辦
29. take self-guided tours(n.) 自己參觀校園
30. pose (v.) 造成，引起
31. serve (v.) 服務
32. custodians (n.) 管理員
33. coordinate (v.) 協調
34. well-being (n.) 幸福；安康
35. ongoing updates (ph.) 持續更新