Resolution Condemning Unsafe Return to Face-to-face Instruction

Resolution Condemning Unsafe Return to Face-to-face Instruction

Whereas without a safe environment for students, faculty, and staff, no institution can be expected to carry out its academic mission to the fullness of its potential, and

Whereas faculty members, in collaboration with their department chairs, have a vested interest in delivering instruction in a modality they deem best, based on their experience, to achieve course outcomes, the University Senate of Georgia College and State University affirms the following:

Resolved, that the Georgia College University Senate:

1. Condemns the unsafe return to face-to-face teaching forced on faculty and students by the administration of the University and the Board of Regents (BOR) of the University System of Georgia (USG);

1. Asserts that students whose situations do not fit within the limited number of medical conditions outlined by the BOR and the Georgia College administration excusing them from attending classes in person should not be forced to take classes face-to-face when that format causes them excessive fear for their physical or mental health;

1. Asserts that faculty whose situations do not fit within the limited number of medical conditions outlined by the BOR and the Georgia College administration excusing them from conducting classes in person should not be forced to teach classes face-to-face when that format causes them excessive fear for their physical or mental health, or endangers the health of those who reside with them and are at high risk. 

Resolved, that the Georgia College University Senate:

1. Finds the actions of the BOR, the USG, and Georgia College administration regarding Fall 2020 have undermined the values of Reason, Respect, and Responsibility in the academic policies they have enforced;

1. Calls on the BOR, the USG, and Georgia College administration to immediately revise policies and allow faculty to deliver instruction in a manner they regard as the most pedagogically sound consistent with the bedrock principle of providing a safe educational environment for students;

1. Calls on the BOR, the USG and Georgia College administration to immediately revise policies and allow students to opt for online instruction if they regard face-to-face classes as unsafe, without any other preconditions.