• We are adjusting to distance learning!  Thanks to the team for making it happen!  We are getting kudos from the University.

• When will we re-open??  One challenge is that we don’t have determinants for re-opening – for example if X happens we will reopen. It may not be too soon to start thinking of determinants for re-opening.  On the other side, the coronavirus tsunami hasn’t left much room to look ahead.  So we are on a rolling schedule to stay on lock down with regular updates.

• People want to help!  Large numbers of people without natural work-at-home activities are signing up for assignment where help is needed.  The system for matching volunteers with needs areas is still developing.

• Again, THANK YOU!!!

Several resources for helping University of Iowa research leaders and staff protect and preserve their work and continue moving forward during the COVID-19 outbreak.

1. VPR will host a virtual town hall meeting via Zoom from 10:30-11:30 a.m. Friday, April 3, to provide updates on facilities, funding, safety and compliance, human and animal subjects, and related issues, as well as to field questions.

• The meeting link is https://uiowa.zoom.us/j/106480234.

2. VPR asking you to subscribe to Covid-19 Update for Researchers, an email we’ll send out whenever there’s important, new information.

• To subscribe, click here (subscribers to OVPR’s monthly newsletter have been automatically added to the bulletin’s mailing list).
• Bookmark OVPR’s COVID-19 resource page, which includes the latest announcements and frequently updated FAQs with important information for the research community.

POLICIES RELATED TO FACULTY EVALUATION AND TENURE

• Teaching observations: Due to the challenges faculty are facing to rapidly move all courses to virtual teaching for the rest of the spring 2020 semester, no teaching observations will be conducted during the spring semester. If teaching observations were performed prior to the move to virtual teaching, these will be included in the annual review.
• Student evaluations: Students will have the opportunity to provide feedback to instructors on their virtual learning experience. However, these evaluations are for formative purposes and will not be used for faculty evaluation.
• Faculty reviews: Annual and reappointment reviews for both probationary and non-tenure track faculty should still be completed for this academic year (virtually), using current practices. The deadline for completion and submission to the Office of the Provost has been moved back to June 1, 2020. Departments and colleges should try to complete annual post-tenure reviews (virtually) whenever possible. If not possible, post-tenure annual reviews may be postponed to the fall 2020 semester. Post-tenure peer reviews may also be postponed until the fall semester.
• Probationary and tenure clock extensions: Effective immediately, the university is providing all tenure-track probationary faculty a one-year automatic extension of their tenure clock. The extension will apply to the current probationary period and may lengthen the time to the first probationary review (year 3 or 4 depending on college) or the time to tenure review. The Office of the Provost will enter the extension into Workflow effective May 1, 2020. You may decline the automatic extension, but after declining you will not be able to reinstate the extension.  Remember that the tenure expectations remain the same whether an extension has been applied or not.  Faculty who are affected by this extension will be contacted individually with more specific information.

For details on these changes, please see https://provost.uiowa.edu/temporary-changes-faculty-policies-spring-2020.

You should have received the COVID-19 Update: Regulatory Updates, March 26, 2020 email that was just sent out from the Iowa Dental Board. In that email, the following information regarding Continuing Education was shared:

1. “The renewal period for dentists starts on July 1, 2020. At this time, the Board does not anticipate extending the deadline for completion of continuing education for dentists. However, the Board is lifting the 12-hour limit on self-study activities for continuing education credit for dentists for the upcoming renewal. All continuing education during this period can be taken on-line.”
2. “Dental hygiene licenses and dental assistant registrations are not scheduled for renewal until 2021. However, the Board is also lifting the 12-hour limit on self-study activities for continuing education credit for those licensees and registrants who will renew in 2021. All continuing education during this period can be taken on-line.”