Fall 2020 instruction

  • by Kevin R. Johnson
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To the King Hall Community,

I hope that you and your friends and family are well, and that everyone is finding time for moments of relaxation and rejuvenation.

This memorandum provides information about fall 2020 instruction.

As we face the challenges of a global pandemic, the King Hall community remains strong, supportive, and dedicated to an excellent public legal education. Over the past few months, we have been diligently planning for the delivery of the best possible instruction in a safe and healthy way.

Please rest assured that, in all of our instructional planning for 2020/21, health and safety are the No. 1 priorities. In our commitment to protecting health and safety, we are poised to adjust as necessary if circumstances change.

The Instructional Planning Advisory Committee recommended that, to ensure the effective introduction of incoming law students to a legal education, priority for in-person instruction be given to first-year courses. The committee further recommended that experiential/skills courses are a priority for in-person instruction. This committee also recommended that the fall semester be shortened by a week to allow for faculty and students to finish instruction by Nov. 25 before the Thanksgiving break, as a further precautionary measure.

Health and safety protocols

Working with UC Davis campus and local health officials, we have established health and safety protocols for entry into King Hall. The protocols, which will be updated as necessary, include: 

  • Health screenings before entering the building
  • Mandatory use of masks/face coverings
  • Social distancing
  • Single-occupancy restrooms
  • Plexiglass in administrative and instructional areas
  • A rigorous cleaning schedule for classrooms and the entire King Hall building
  • Maximum occupancy of selected classrooms will be 25-30 percent of capacity. Building occupancy capacity will be decreased to meet public health standards. To reduce the number of people in the building at one time, staff and faculty at the law school will work on a staggered schedule. The law building will be closed to the general public. 

Expansion of our summer orientation and Intro Week program for first-year students

We redesigned “Intro Week” for remote workshops that begin in late July. Incoming students soon will get information about programming, including our new Community Read in which students will read and discuss Michelle Alexander's  The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness (2010). For the Introduction to Law course starting Aug. 17, we created small-section opportunities and refined the schedule.

Fall instruction

The fall 2020 semester will be offered in one of two formats. Both formats allow for quick and efficient transition if changed circumstances require complete remote instruction.

  • Hybrid in-person instruction: The course will be offered in-person, with an option for students to synchronously join the class via Zoom.
  • Online instruction: The course will be delivered through Zoom and the Canvas course management system.

First-year courses

In a poll of the incoming class, approximately 80 percent responded that they are available for hybrid in-person classes. A student seeking to attend courses remotely will be able to do so with notice to our Dean of Students. No justification or documentation is required.

All incoming first-year students will have the opportunity for two in-person classes (with a remote component) and two completely online classes. All courses will have at least one upper-division Academic Success tutor to assist and plan small- group study sessions.
    

  • For one of the hybrid in-person classes, Legal Research & Writing, students will have space to attend in person at the same time. For the other hybrid in-person class, we will rotate students so that about half the class attends in-person in any given week. Hybrid in-person classes will allow students to synchronously join the class through Zoom.


Upper-division courses 

Most upper-division courses will be classes offered remotely; a few – mostly experiential/skills classes and seminars -- will be offered as hybrid in-person classes. Students will be provided the updated schedule indicating the course delivery formats around July 1, and participate in a second course registration beginning on July 31.

Teaching and learning

In all classroom settings, we will support our students’ ability to be focused, active learners. Faculty members will provide opportunities for deep learning and meaningful interactions with professors and fellow students. And the world-class UC Davis Law faculty have become remote learning experts. Faculty are reviewing course evaluations from spring 2020 and student surveys and collaborating on teaching ideas. The Teaching and Learning Advisory Committee has planned and begun a series of training opportunities for faculty. Training topics include online course design, student engagement, and formative assessments. This committee is considering trainings for students about successful learning in a virtual classroom.

Expansion of student services

With the instructional format, one-on-one and small-group interactions will not be as easily available. We are committed to creating socially distanced space and are preparing for the use of space in the King Hall courtyard and the arboretum. Our community will connect virtually as well as we provide small group meeting opportunities and online “hangouts.” We will continue to offer student organizations the opportunity to schedule virtual meeting rooms through our scheduling system. A student advisory committee of eight student leaders is guiding our discussion.

We will expand the Academic Success tutor program, provide classroom assistants to provide logistical assistance to faculty in hybrid in-person classes, upgrade classroom technology, and reassign staff members to focus on health and safety. A new Diversity, Equity & Inclusion fellow in the Office for Student Affairs will work with students on social justice programming for the King Hall community.

Flexibility of regulations

The law school has: 

  • Modified the academic calendar for the fall 2020 semester. The last day of instruction is now Nov. 25, 2020 with examinations completed by December 11, 2020.
  • Moved fall 2020 examinations to a remote (online or take-home) format. Fall courses will be graded using the law school’s regular grading system (letter-graded, with some Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory).
  • Arranged for the recording of all classes (with faculty options for release).
  • Recommended to faculty to continue reasonable attendance policies. Although regular attendance is required, flexibility in course attendance policies is recommended. 

We all will need to work together to ensure community safety. We all must follow the protocols and guidelines, including wearing face masks and engaging in social distancing. I look forward to working together to explore new ways to teach and learn the law. Thank you to all for your patience and consideration.

-- Dean Johnson