Swanson

Kellori, as an administrator, how have your standards evolved with regard to assessing your employees, and how they are assessing their students' online work?

Dower

We've become very comfortable with "flexibility," and I'm requesting that they do the same with their students as well. I meet with my faculty on Zoom once a week, and committees are starting to meet on Zoom. Their meeting attendance and engagement has been spectacular.

Swanson

Rollo, how are you evaluating your faculty?

Dilworth

As normally as possible. Adjustments to the 40/40/20 are going to have to be made, and we will look more carefully at the service component. Be sure you have an understanding from your administration about how they will be evaluating you, and get a sense of how your peer evaluations and external reviews will be weighed.

Swanson

How are you evaluating student teachers this semester?

Dilworth

We are still waiting for the state Department of Education regarding waiving the 12-week minimum for certification. We believe that they will, and we are going to grade the students based upon in-class observations that have been completed.

Swanson

Do our panelists want to jump in with anything else?

Farah

I have a question: Is it important to get changes and exceptions to tenure and promotion processes in writing?

Dower

You will want to get something in writing. Memories fade, so at least an email trail is important.

Dilworth

Any change to your process needs a binding communication indicating that everyone is on the same page.

Hanawalt

FSU is encouraging faculty who missed presentation opportunities to input those activities into the online system we have for capturing that information as if they had occurred. They are working to figure out a way to designate those as "during the COVID era." Stay on top of those announcements from your institution.

Dilworth

Especially if you are presenting on a regional or national level, be sure you are documenting that. This is another reason that you may want to consider taking that extra year for tenure/promotion, because a high-profile engagement may have led to you being invited to do something else. The extra year gives you the opportunity to build the connections you lost due to that conference cancellation.

Swanson

Mariana, what is happening with your recruitment and retention of international and graduate students?

Farah

It is highly questionable whether international students and scholars who are not currently living in the United States will be able to obtain a visa in time to enroll for next fall. This will have a huge impact on our program and campus diversity and our ability to hire faculty from other countries. We will have to work extra hard to help international students who are here and unable to return home during these difficult times.

Swanson

Kellori, your thoughts on undergraduate recruitment and retention?

Dower

Maintain close connections with area high schools and community colleges. Offer to be a resource for them via Zoom to share strategies you've been using. Help them to see you as a resource.

Swanson

A question from an attendee -- "What implications would there be for higher education music programs in general if we are not able to start our usual activities in the fall? Are administrators forecasting a loss of tuition for many experiential programs? Are there any plans for mitigating impact of such a tuition loss?"

Dilworth

We can't be sure that classes are going to start in the fall. Many schools have gone 100% online for summer sessions. Administrators are preparing for two scenarios: starting face-to-face, or starting classes online and then morphing into face-to-face.