Updated Student Compliance Policies
From Dr. Jean Morrison, University Provost and Chief Academic Officer
As you have read in recent weeks, we have seen an uptick in the number of COVID-19 cases on campus. In response, earlier this week Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore announced a set of changes to student compliance protocols to ensure that all students are following the required testing and daily attestation requirements, and avoiding large social gatherings. These changes are articulated in detail in this letter from Dean Elmore and apply to all students.
The Dean of Students’ office will continue to monitor student compliance and administer actions that need to be taken in response to student non-compliance. I want to highlight one aspect of the new protocols that will impact faculty. If a student is overdue with testing and/or completing the daily symptom attestation, they will be given 48 hours to get back in compliance. If, after 48 hours, the student is still not in compliance they will be prohibited from participating in any classroom or academic activity, either in person or remote, including the ability to access their courses through Blackboard or other platforms, or complete quizzes, examinations, and other course assignments. Once a student completes their overdue test and symptom attestation, they will regain access to classes. If a student remains out of compliance, they will be subject to further disciplinary action.
What does this mean for faculty? IS&T and Questrom IT are able to remove and reinstate student access to Blackboard/Questrom tools, so starting next week that will be done when necessary. Unfortunately, we are not able to integrate student compliance information with course lists, so faculty are only likely to learn of individual student compliance blocks from the students themselves. Our recommendation to faculty is to grade any missed quizzes, exams, or other course assignments that occur due to revocation of access to classroom or academic activity as a zero. Ultimately, however, how to consider such graded activities is up to the individual faculty member. If students have questions about this process, please advise them to contact Healthway Help at healthwayhelp@bu.edu.
I recognize that these measures are disruptive, but for the safety of the community as a whole we must do all we can to ensure that all members of the community are completing regular COVID tests and daily health attestations. Thank you once again for your understanding during these challenging times.