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Important Information as We Near the Semester’s End – Grades and Evaluations

Date/Time sent: 04/21/2020 4:47 pm

Dear UH West O‘ahu Instructors,

Thank you all for your herculean efforts to ensure that our students are receiving a quality learning experience in the most challenging of circumstances! With final exams just two weeks away, we are approaching an important milestone.

We wanted to take a moment to reach out to you in order to call your attention to key dates and adaptations to policy and practice as we near the end of the semester. Please note the following:

  • Last Day for Withdrawal: The last day for students to withdraw from a class for SP20 has been extended to Thursday, April 30.
  • CR/NC Option: The UH System adopted a new policy that will enable all SP20 students to elect to convert their letter grades to Credit/No-Credit options before registrars finalize their semester grades.
  • Deadline for Instructors to Submit Grades: Instructors will submit their grades just as they have done in past semesters; however, the grade submission deadline will be 4:00 pm on Tuesday, May 12, instead of midnight.
    • It is vital to get the grades in by the deadline to provide students with two full days to change their grading option.
    • Another change is that students will be able to see their “unofficial” grades as soon as you input them into the online portal.
    • Refer students to Student Affairs Advisors if they are unsure of whether they should change their grading option.
    • If you have further questions regarding the SP 20 grading process, please visit the UH System’s “Faculty FAQs on Grading” website.
  • Deadline for Students to Change Grading Option: Students should review their grades after 4:05 pm on May 12; they  have until 4:00 pm on Thursday, May 14 to decide whether they wish to change their grading option for any class—this can be done for one class, or all classes. They will make this change in STAR themselves and the change will be processed by the records office. Instructors do not need to take any action.
  • Changes to Course Evaluation System (CES): Note that the opening of the evaluation period has been amended at the UH System level to commence on May 1, after the revised student withdrawal deadline (April 30). Although CES is being reconfigured across the UH System to prevent the automatic sharing of your CES surveys with Division Chairs, UH West O‘ahu is already designed this way. One change this semester, however, is that instructors will have the ability to disable their CES surveys by logging into the CES system and making that adjustment. Please consult your Division Chairs before proceeding. The OVCAA will not expect contract renewal and tenure/promotion applicants to provide CES surveys for the SP20 semester. However, since the expectation to include student evaluations of teaching in your contract renewal, tenure, and promotion applications emanates from a Faculty Senate resolution, consultation with your Division Chair would be prudent. Our office will encourage DPC and TPRC members to be flexible regarding their assessment of SP20 teaching performances and evaluations. The UH System’s COVID-19 landing page contains a repository of UH System announcements regarding its response to the pandemic, including information on the CES changes noted here.

Please also reach out directly to your Division Chairs for advice and assistance:

You are approaching the finish line of what will likely prove to be the most grueling academic semester in your lives and the lives of your students. Please take a moment to congratulate yourself for persevering in the midst of adverse circumstances. We truly appreciate your efforts and dedication!

Warmest regards,

Alan Rosenfeld, Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
Jeffrey Moniz, Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs