A Message from Dean Miles: Remote Start to Winter Quarter 2022
Dean Miles sent this announcement to all current students on December 23, 2021. This message follows the message from Provost Lee on the same topic.
Dear students –
I write to share additional information about the Law School’s plans for the start of Winter Quarter. The message below from the University informed you that the Law School would begin Winter Quarter on January 3, 2022, in remote format.
I appreciate that this news from the University is disappointing, because we attach a high value on in-person learning and we enjoyed success in Autumn Quarter with in-person instruction and gatherings. At the same time, we should be reassured by the University’s quick response to new information about the rapidly-changing public health situation. Our hope is that this adjustment to the start of Winter Quarter will keep everyone safe, minimize disruption to our learning in the short term, and allow us to resume in-person instruction and activities later in the Quarter.
The resilience, patience, and flexibility of our entire community in the face of the pandemic’s continuing uncertainties should be a source of pride and inspiration to all of us. Thank you for all you have done to support each other and continue our mission of pursuing knowledge.
Here is some additional information regarding the start of Winter Quarter in the Law School:
- The Law School will remain on its previously announced academic calendar for Winter and Spring Quarters. As you read in the University’s message, the rest of the University will shift the dates of its Winter and Spring Quarters by a week. The Law School’s remaining on its previously announced calendar will allow us to readily satisfy American Bar Association requirements, and it should have the additional benefit of eliminating any impact on the start date of students’ summer plans. The Law School’s academic calendar is often a week different from the rest of the University’s, and as we do in such circumstances, individual instructors will make adjustments in coordination with the Registrar for cross-listed courses.
- The Law School will conduct remote instruction for the first three weeks of Winter Quarter, January 3 – 21, 2022. The Registrar’s Office will share Zoom links through each class’s Canvas page. We believe strongly in the importance of in-person learning, but our faculty is well prepared to teach in remote format. We conducted fully remote instruction in Spring 2020, and multiple courses in the academic year 2020-21 were held in remote format. In making this change in modality during the first weeks of Winter Quarter, the University seeks to keep everyone safe and allow us to return to in-person instruction for the remainder of the term.
- All non-instructional events and activities that have been scheduled to occur in an in-person format during the first three weeks of Winter Quarter should be instead held in remote format or postponed. Student organizations may reach out to Candace Mui in the Dean of Students’ Office if assistance is needed for this.
- More information will follow regarding access to the Law School building and the D’Angelo Library during the first three weeks of Winter Quarter. The purpose of moving to remote modality is to prevent congregations of people, but we hope to provide some limited access to the building for students who need it. Staff in our student services offices will be available on Zoom throughout the first three weeks of the Winter Quarter.
Please watch for additional messaging as we complete the plans for Winter Quarter. Thank you, once again, for your flexibility and patience as we work to keep our community safe. I look forward to seeing you in remote form on January 3rd and in person on January 24th. Until then, I wish you a safe and restful break and a happy new year.
Sincerely,
Tom Miles