Contact
Contact us at Covidadhoc [at] mcgill.ca with your questions, concerns or ideas about academic planning and policies in the Covid-19 context.
Mandate
The Advisory Committee shall liaise with and advise the University’s senior administration on COVID-related decisions affecting academic planning and policies, and how such decisions can be most effectively communicated and implemented.
The Advisory Committee shall meet weekly throughout AY2021/22 and shall report to Senate throughout AY2021/22 through a standing agenda item for information.
The Advisory Committee can solicit and receive feedback on matters within its mandate from members of the McGill community and will respond to this through the University Senate.
Composition
- The Associate Provost (Teaching and Academic Programs) (Co-chair)
- The Associate Provost (Equity and Academic Policies) (Co-chair)
- The Director of Teaching and Learning Services
- Three members of the academic staff:
- two Senators, one of whom is nominated by MAUT
- one who is a scientist with expertise in the field of epidemiology and public health
- One Senator who is a member of the administrative and support staff
- Two Senators who are students, one graduate and one undergraduate
Resource Person: Registrar & Executive Director of Enrolment Services
Source: Senate Minute 3, October 4, 2021
Membership
Ex officio members
- Professor Christopher Buddle, Associate Provost (Teaching and Academic Programs) (Co-chair)
- Professor Angela Campbell, Associate Provost (Equity and Academic Policies) (Co-chair)
- Dr. Laura Winer, Director of Teaching and Learning Services
Three members of the academic staff:
- Professor Petra Rohrbach (AES representative on Senate)
- Professor Daniel Weinstock (Arts representative on Senate; nominated by MAUT)
- Professor Rebecca Fuhrer (Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Occupational Health/School of Population and Global Health)
Administrative and support staff representative on Senate:
- Ms. Nancy Czemmel (Manager of Student Services, Schulich School of Music)
Student members:
- Ms. Jennifer Chen (Graduate student Senator)
- Ms. Claire Downie (Undergraduate student Senator)
Resource Person: Ms. Gillian Nycum, Registrar & Executive Director of Enrolment Services
Meeting Minutes
Inaugural meeting. Discussion of mandate, terms of reference, confidentiality and communications with the community, including the decision to create a website and email account for feedback.
Discussion of Faculty oversight of teaching and course delivery decisions as well as academic accommodations. Included discussion of the need for clarity around teaching modes (ie. online vs blended learning vs hybrid, etc.)
A special meeting to discuss Winter 2022 academic planning as pertaining to the classroom allocation process and achieving our goals in connection with on-campus teaching and learning while maintaining a safe on-campus environment.
The focus of the meeting was a discussion about student accommodations, to provide context related to the current process and to gain a better understanding of scope of requests.
Items covered included communications, feedback from the community on the decision for large lectures to be online, the EOC's transition and its impact on Ad-Hoc Committee, Winter 2022 planning, and Student Accommodations.
Committee discussed adding an FAQ to Ad-Hoc website as well as call for feedback from community. Continued student accommodations discussion, specifically how best to develop practices that could be the foundation of an infrastructure for the longer-term, post COVID, teaching environment that promotes greater accessibility for all students.
Meeting focussed on specific possible solutions to support instructors with online teaching for students requesting COVID-related accommodations.
Discussion of how to coordinate responses to questions sent to the Ad Hoc email, monthly reports at Senate meetings, and accommodations for Academic Staff.
Further discussion of protocol for responding to questions sent to the Ad Hoc email. Discussion of assistance available to instructors who want to set up online synchronous participation, as well as Final Exam Protocols and accommodations for Academic Staff.
A special meeting where Committee members reviewed a proposal and agreed to update Senate on areas of concern regarding instructors’ requests for accommodations.
The Committee was joined by Provost Christopher Manfredi for a listening session and to gather further thoughts on recommendations for COVID accommodations for Academic Staff during the W22 term.
The Committee was joined by members of the Recovery and Resumption (ROR) Committee. The purpose of this meeting was to discuss activities undertaken by each committee and to allow Ad Hoc Committee members to ask questions of the ROR Committee members.
The Committee was joined by Teri Phillips, Director, and Catherine Loiselle, Associate Director of the Office of Students with Disabilities (OSD), as well as Glenn Zabowski, Associate Dean of Students from the Office of the Dean of Students (ODoS) to speak about student accommodations.
The Committee called a special meeting to discuss the Provost’s decision regarding requests from instructors with cohabiting family members facing COVID vulnerabilities for pedagogical arrangements.
Committee discussed communications challenges given the rapidly evolving circumstances tied to COVID. Prof. Fabrice Labeau joined the meeting to provide an overview of current government directives and challenges given the unpredictable and fluid public health situation.
Discussion centring on the upcoming return to campus, as well as the Committee's mandate and communications
The Committee discussed and provided feedback on draft documents pertaining to instructor and student prepared for the upcoming transitional return to in-person teaching. Discussions were also had around communications and some students' desire for an expanded S/U option.
Items covered include a Senate mtg recap, the return to campus and support for students and staff, communications and planning for the February 2022 Senate Open Discussion.
Items covered include TLS drop-in sessions, support for instructors, return to campus, student boycotts and final exams.
Committee discussed support for instructors and students in relation to the return to campus and the upcoming Senate open discussion.
Update on Senate open discussion, communications and upcoming initiatives and planning
Update on Senate open discussion, communications and upcoming initiatives.
Discussion concerning communications and the Senate Report and recommendations
The Ad-Hoc committee met with the members of the New Models of Academic Program Delivery to discuss ways that some of the ad-hoc committee’s work and recommendations may impact longer-term considerations around new ways of delivering programs.
General campus update and debrief on conversation with the New Models of Academic Program Delivery group.
Brainstorming and sharing ideas on how to bring forward recommendations from experience gathered during the past year, notably around the writing of the committee’s final report
The Ad-Hoc committee met with some members of the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) and Recovery and Operations Resumption (ROR) Committee to discuss future responses to the pandemic when these touch upon academic activities.