I hope this finds you well and recovering from the effects of Hurricane Sandy. During the coming days, you will receive important messages from your instructors and academic departments regarding the academic calendar and course schedules for the remainder of the semester. I can assure you that we will adjust our schedule to ensure that all students receive the full educational value for each course they are taking. I can also let you know that, as of now, the semester will end as planned on December 12, 2012.

The university administration has been exploring a variety of creative ways to make up the week of classes that we lost because of Hurricane Sandy. Depending on the nature of courses you are taking, instructors may opt to one or more of the following options to make up for lost instructional time:

1. Use of available common hours as teaching slots, with the exception of the Wednesday 2:30 PM slot remaining open for activities and club meeting;
2. Schedule end-of-semester Saturday review sessions, both in-person and on-line; and
3. Consider innovative teaching and learning approaches and take advantage of online technology resources to maximize instructional delivery outside of normal class time.

Also, as a reminder, the calendar reads as follows:

• Reading Day is Thursday, December 13th.
• Final Exams remain scheduled from Friday, December 14th to Thursday, December 20th
• Winter Recess begins Friday December 21st and runs through Monday, January 21st.
• Winter Session will be held as scheduled, beginning December 27th and 28th and continuing from January 2nd to the 15th.
• Spring Registration will be open the week of November 19th.
• Spring classes begin on Tuesday, January 22nd.

I will be communicating with deans to provide guidelines and connect them with resources and support to facilitate the implementation of our instructional recovery plan. I also expect that the faculty and instructional staff will update students directly in their classes.

Please feel free to contact the Dean of Students Office regarding any conflicts or hardships. They will make every effort to accommodate your needs.

Sincerely,

Ian Gatley
Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs