May 4, 2022
Dear Colleagues,
As you begin planning your Fall 2022 semester, the Senate and the Administrative leadership would like to remind you that the University of California has reaffirmed its commitment to being primarily a residential campus and learning environment. At this time, we do not plan to extend the temporary accommodations of remote instruction for a class that is normally scheduled to be in person that were granted by the Divisional Council in Fall 21 and Spring 22 semesters.
Beginning in Fall 2022, remote instruction will not be considered a reasonable accommodation for courses that have been approved for in-person modality only. We would like to remind you that neither Accessibility Services nor department chairs are allowed to “approve” remote instruction, regardless of an instructor’s medical status. Course modality is solely approved by the Academic Senate. The Graduate and Undergraduate Councils’ (GC and UGC) as well as each schools’ instructional deadlines to request changes in course modalities for Fall 2022 and Spring 2023 have passed.
While remote instruction is no longer a reasonable accommodation for instructors, we encourage department chairs and instructors to work together to identify reasonable duty assignments and other accommodations for instructors with identified needs. Requests for accommodations should be handled in accordance with APM – 711 Reasonable Accommodation for Academic Appointees with Disabilities or the applicable collective bargaining agreement (https://academicpersonnel.ucmerced.edu/policies/collective-bargaining).
We will continue to monitor the situation and adjust the policy if warranted. We thank you all for your hard work this past academic year and are looking forward to the new academic year.
Copy: All UC Merced Instructors, Divisional Council, Office of Academic Personnel, Assistant & Associate Deans, School Executive Committees’ Support staff, Curriculum Managers.
Regards,
