The College of Engineering’s weekly update aims to provide transparent and frequent information about how the College is operating, adapting and caring for its community. Updated information can always be found at the College’s COVID website. Questions and feedback can be submitted here.
FALL ANNOUNCEMENT – IN-RESIDENCE PLANNED
President Mark Schlissel announced Monday that U-M will launch the fall semester Aug. 31 with a blend of in-person and remote classes, an adjusted academic calendar and an emphasis on the use of face coverings, social distancing and other public health measures. Fall semester details are guided by public health experts paired with guidance from the U-M community. The University’s Maize and Blueprint website provides comprehensive information about the implementation plan, guiding principles and current status. The College’s COVID website has been also updated with details and a message from Dean Gallimore.
PREPARING FOR HYBRID CLASS STRUCTURE
To be ready for the August start date, it will be critical that faculty work towards an array of options for students that include in-person, remote and hybrid instruction. The College has worked to develop some guidelines to use in consultation with your department chair and facilities engineer to determine whether a class should be fully remote, in-person, or both.
The College is offering instructional consultations to faculty and GSI’s through Nexus that will help support the quality of a Michigan Engineering education. Additionally, there are 9 lecture recording studios available to pre-record online content this summer, as well as the ability to pre-record in a departmental teaching lab or your faculty office.
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR DOOR GREETERS
Additional volunteers are needed as door entry greeters to allow for safe check-in of College students, faculty and staff into buildings to conduct their work. Volunteer shifts are 4 to 6 hours, and volunteers should have the ability to dedicate the entire shift to the responsibilities of staffing the assigned entry. Greeters will ask individuals about their health attestation and take the individual’s temperature using a thermal scan thermometer. They will be provided with the necessary PPE to ensure their safety and well-being, as well as all necessary materials to operate the greeter station. To sign up for a shift, please contact Michael Lee at erdragon@umich.edu.
STUDENT SOLUTIONS THROUGH COVID CHALLENGE
Nearly 600 students from across the university submitted 89 ideas to the COVID-19 Campus Challenge, a Michigan Engineering-led effort to generate ideas for how best to adapt to social distancing measures during the fall semester. Students worked with administrators for 3 weeks to develop their proposed solutions in the 6 topic areas of co-curricular activities, food insecurity, housing, mental health, transportation, and diversity, equity, & inclusion.
The top 5 teams from each of these topic areas have been chosen and are sharing their solution in our virtual, live, Showcase on Wednesday, July 1 from 2 to 4 p.m. The event will be run similarly to a design expo, where participants will have the opportunity to see an overview of the proposed solutions and then drop-in to a breakout room with the teams to learn more.
HELPING STUDENTS THROUGH EMERGENCY FUND
An emergency fund created by Michigan Engineering is helping students deal with issues caused by the arrival of COVID-19 – problems that run the gamut from unexpected travel costs to food insecurity. As students prepare to return in the Fall, the needs and stress are only likely to increase. To date, the fund has taken in nearly $145,000 in gifts, and will continue to accept donations to help students in need.