UB units offer assistance as distance learning and working from home begins

In this unprecedented university-wide shift to working from home, distance learning and online classes, students and faculty should remember something almost guaranteed to help unscramble the inevitable challenges: There is relief, advice and assistance everywhere. All you need to do is look around and ask. Being non-essential does not mean you don’t matter.

An impressive and resourceful support system coming in time for the first week of working at home and online classes has taken off. And the significance of it goes beyond helping faculty, staff and students continue their work.

Anyone looking for evidence of a university-wide community during the COVID-19 pandemic is in luck. This shopping mall of services created by UB administrators, faculty and staff reaching out to those facing the abrupt transition from office to home and classroom to Webex is a bright spot in an otherwise uncertain time.

It also helps explain how UB has transitioned more than 4,000 classes, including labs, into online courses in a matter of weeks.

“Recently, I was asked by someone from outside the UB community what I had learned since taking the position of provost,” wrote A. Scott Weber, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, in an email to UB employees sent March 23.

“Without hesitation, I replied that I had been humbled and deeply gratified by the tremendous spirit of cooperation that you, as faculty and staff, have demonstrated in achieving our common purpose of transitioning to remote learning within 10 days. Together we will ensure that we are continuing to deliver the very best education possible to our students in these extraordinary times.”

In some cases, the feast of virtual conferencing and online help sites has been overwhelming, making them hard to sort through. In any event, it’s being done with flair and intelligence, and sometimes even a wry humor.

Up first, in no special order, UB’s Center for Educational Innovation (CEI), which partnered with UB Information Technology and University Libraries to run back-to-back emergency courses to help teachers make the transition to distance learning.

The two-hour sessions were open to faculty, adjunct lecturers, graduate teaching assistants and others seeking guidance on how to use technology to build effective online classes – as documented in a UBNow story.

Online teaching resources and a link to register for an emergency online course-building session are available on CEI’s website.

Quickly following the announcement to distance learning, the offices of J. Brice Bible, Graham Hammill and Robert Granfield sent out a detailed memo to faculty sharing important dates, guidelines and information on campus resources.

Then there was the Professional Staff Senate (PSS). PSS Chair Tim Tryjankowski sent an email to professional staff acknowledging “another wave of newness” as students get back to studies post spring break.

“I’m sure we will all have another learning curve of our own to conquer then,” he wrote. “Please take care of yourselves while also taking care of your work responsibilities!”

Tryjankowski said he had asked PSS senators and committee chairs to think about ways to communicate and plan for their changing role in the days ahead, “after we acclimate to students being in session.”

“If you have any needs, issues, concerns or helpful tips regarding your now different work life,” he wrote, “please share them with your area senators, who will share things up through our representative body.”

Individual departments have joined the mission. Alex Reid, director of writing across the curriculum in the Department of English, sent an email out to faculty on March 16.

“Our goal is not to give you one more thing to do or check, but hopefully to make the task we have a little easier,” Reid wrote.

He announced a special content area on teaching online, as well as plans to run live Webex sessions, recording them and making them widely available.

“We created a UBLearns space where we are sharing support materials and links to existing resources,” he wrote. “We’ll also be running live workshops and support sessions in Webex or Zoom in the coming weeks.”

Through this, Reid maintained a personal touch, responding to individual faculty requests and offering to do one-on-one video talks with faculty on Webex and other online teaching methods.

“This is the unfortunate future I never knew I was preparing for,” he wrote. “I am here as a resource if you need me.”

Reid also has written blog posts on the subject: One offers advice to online instructors, while another contains guidance for students, with a foolproof opening to get them to read.

“First of all, I understand how much this probably sucks,” Reid wrote in his “advice to students who unexpectedly enrolled in an online university.”

“I’ve been a professor for 20+ years, but right now my son is a college freshman and my daughter was looking forward to enjoying a victory lap in her final semester as a college senior before heading off to a PhD program. Of course, there are more pressing concerns, but we can take a moment to recognize that this sucks, too.

“My personal recourse is to the philosophy of the Stoics,” he wrote in conclusion. “Depending on your faith, you might recognize this as a precursor to the Serenity Prayer. Happiness always lies in aligning our desires with objectives that are within our power to achieve. You can apply that advice generally, but here I’d say you might apply that advice to the next few weeks of your online education.

“The only thing I know for sure,” Reid wrote to conclude a blog entry, “is that we are in this together.”

Visit the UBIT website to find software tools, collaboration tools, computer access options and broadband services for students across New York State.

Anyone experiencing a technical problem with Zoom, Webex or Panopto should contact the UBIT Help Center.

For problems with a departmentally supported computer, contact the departmental IT support team.