Provost Communication, Monday, April 29, 2024

Hello everyone,

Normally I would write Happy Monday but today I want to recognize our current situation. As a university and the division of academic affairs we share a commitment to free speech and the right to demonstrate. We also have a shared commitment to learning and policies and procedures around how to engage in civil debate to support dialogue and exchange of ideas without disrupting the learning space of others.  However, we continue to have a disruptive learning environment that is not safe for all of the members of our community and therefore we cannot continue business and learning as normal. As of the writing of this communication, there continue to be people occupying Siemens Hall and Nelson Hall. The exact number of occupants is unknown. There also continues to be dialogue with the occupants. This continues to be an evolving situation so please continue to look for broader campus communications for more details including the one that went out just last evening. 

We must ensure the continuity of instruction through the end of the semester which is May 10th, 2024 and support all of our students’ academic goals. Though the campus is closed through May 10th, 2024  and we have switched to virtual instruction, our students will complete this semester; achieving course learning objectives, receiving grades, and having the opportunity to graduate on time. As a university, we will support our faculty, students and staff in reaching this goal.  We learned a great deal about how to pivot quickly to remote instruction and must now work those muscles again. Please make use of the information below to collectively bring the most important purpose of our campus to a successful end. 

I also wanted to acknowledge the lack of consistent communication from academic affairs over the last week as I have been literally inundated with emails, phone calls and text messages and have been unable to keep up with the volume. Additionally I have prioritized working with the Senior Leadership team as well as directly with students and faculty toward a peaceful resolution.  There have been regular campus updates which I hope have provided some useful information. I am hopeful the following information below is also helpful: 

Keep Teaching at Humboldt

• This resource (https://ctl.humboldt.edu/content/keep-teaching-2024) is provided to guide you through some considerations to support you and your students during this time.

Access to Campus and Device Pick Up

• Ongoing campus access: During a hard campus closure, very few employees have the ability to access campus. If you have been approved to access campus during this hard closure on an ongoing basis, you have already been notified and further detailed instructions about accessing campus are forthcoming. If an ongoing need emerges to access campus in the College of Natural Resources and Sciences, please contact Dean Eric Riggs, otherwise for all other areas of academic affairs, please contact me directly to seek permission. 
• One time office access and device pick up:
  • There is a process in place for faculty and staff members to obtain one-time access to campus to retrieve essential materials and equipment they require to perform their work. 
  • Staff and faculty members must schedule an appointment with the Information Technology Services department in advance by sending an email to help@humboldt.edu and including the following information: Name, office location, contact phone number, what equipment/items you would like to pick up, and availability timeframe between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.
  • ITS will respond with a specific time confirmation and meeting instructions.
  • Please bring your Humboldt ID
  • Please expect to be escorted by an ITS team who will stay with you the entire time you are in the building
  • After retrieving your items, immediately exit the building under the supervision of the ITS team
  • If your building isn’t accessible, ITS will provide you with a loaner laptop

Grading and Course Completion

• Please don’t give incompletes and instead, find alternative ways to finish assignments and projects. Assigning incompletes to an entire class or classes is not appropriate, period.
• Students and faculty are encouraged to give grace when possible. It has been difficult for everyone to concentrate on learning over the last week. We recognize that disruption is largely the point of the protest and this may reflect in student learning and assessment of learning during the last two weeks of classes and any culminating assignments. 
• Give grace when possible for finishing assignments and recognize that many students may not have resources available to complete all work. 
•  If there are changes to the syllabus and grading scheme please communicate this to the students.
• Delays to grading negatively impacts our student body, and will delay graduation, entrance to grad school, registration, eligibility for benefits, scholarships, etc.

Finals

• Remote Instruction & Finals. Finals do not have to be given as faculty consider optional finals or canceling finals. 

Interim Student Suspensions

• Students believed to be involved with occupying Siemens and/or Nelson Hall may have received interim suspension letters and instructions from the Dean of Students Office with regard to next steps. Many students and faculty have reached out with questions about this process and in some cases wishing to refute a students’ involvement. Please note that the interim suspension paperwork outlines the process to provide any additional or corrective information, and the Dean of Students Office is already working closely with students to address any questions or appeals.

Labs

• I understand the obstacles both you and our students encounter when courses heavily rely on projects and in-person elements. Faculty are encouraged to embrace flexibility in grading and consider alternative assessment methods to help mitigate these challenges. The Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) is available for assistance in exploring innovative strategies or adaptations for hands-on components, where possible, to uphold academic standards and student achievement. 

Finally, I know that each of you cares deeply about your students and the campus community. 

1. Please encourage students occupying Siemens Hall and Nelson Hall to leave immediately. Please see the video here which is extremely concerning.
2. Please respect the hard campus closure and stay off of campus unless you have explicit permission to access the campus. 
3. While the occupation of Siemens Hall and Nelson Hall and ongoing protest activity is at times all encompassing, please also direct attention to the 1000’s of students who are not involved and are seeking to successfully finish out the semester. I need you to be there for them. 
4. Please take care of yourself and each other. This is an exceptionally stressful time. Take a break, get some sun, get some exercise, check in with a colleague/friend, hug your dog or cat. Whatever works for you. We will get through this together. And we will heal.

Take care,

Jenn Capps

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Jenn Capps, PhD 

Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs 

Cal Poly Humboldt