August 22, 2024 - Guidance for the Fall 2024 semester

Dear Colleagues,

Welcome back after what I hope was a restorative summer. As we begin the Fall 2024 semester, thank you for the work you do in teaching and supporting our students. This email offers reminders of some best practices, some key policies, and resources for teaching. Beyond the nuts and bolts, I think we’re seeking an optimized blend of excellence and empathy, rigorous academic standards and support for students working to meet them. Clarity about our expectations may not be glamorous, but it can effectively serve both those aims. Let’s welcome all of our students and support them in doing their best.

Rules of the road:

If you are teaching Fall subjects, please bear in mind the following reminders of our policies on grading, assignments and exams; most can be found at more length inRules and Regulations of the Faculty, Sections 2.50 and 2.60. A few minutes reviewing syllabi in relation to faculty policies helps to limit student complaints about potential violations and ensure a more productive learning experience for everyone. (Some common issues are flagged below.) If you have questions or foresee the need for an exception, please contact me as soon as possible.

Grading Guidelines (an important reminder): At MIT the grade for each student is determined independently of other students – not on a curve. Make sure to be aware of our grading policy and use clear language on syllabi (which should include grading criteria and procedures: see Sections 2.53 and 2.54) and in communications with students.

Assignment and Exam Restrictions: Over the years, the faculty has developed rules aimed at managing the complex interactions between scheduled work for our various subjects and between academic work and protected time for students. Please see information on: Undergraduate subjects; Graduate subjects; Requests for clarification or exceptions.

Scheduling Exams, Quizzes, and Review Sessions: Please ask students to flag potential scheduling conflicts early in the semester to allow for timely planning of any appropriate accommodations.

Use of Generative AI: Although we do not yet have a formal policy, it will doubtless be increasingly common (and prudent) to include an AI Acceptable-use Statement in your syllabus. If more information would be helpful, the Teaching Learning Lab has assembled a set of useful resources on generative AI and teaching (including sample statements).

Contingency planning: 

Make sure that multiple staff, including the instructor of record, have access throughout the semester to grade sheets, student records, and class communication channels. Instructors should have backup plans for instruction and assessments in the event of substantial or extended illness, absence of instructors and/or teaching staff, or other unexpected disruptions. The Teaching and Learning Lab offers help in thinking through plans to ensure academic continuity.

We are in a moment of widespread activism, and in the final months of a hotly contested presidential election. Please consider in advance how you would prefer to deal with demonstrations that occur in or otherwise disrupt scheduled classes, should any occur. Instructors should use their discretion — some guidelines are available on the Faculty Governance website — in arriving at a content-neutral response that would be appropriate across a range of situations in a given class. It may be helpful to add language to your syllabus or to Canvas about your expectations and/or MIT policies (policies are referenced in the guidelines document).

Other resources:

Finally, the Division of Student Life provides resources for faculty to support student wellbeing, including a faculty guide on how to respond if a student in distress or having difficulty coping. There is also a network of support in student residences and other organizations on campus. If you see students who are struggling, please reach out to the nearest point of contact with any of those networks so that we can, collectively, help them.

Please reach out to me directly if you have questions or concerns about these policies, resources, and student accommodations either in general or for a specific issue. Your teaching is at the heart of MIT’s purpose, and my colleagues and I will do our best to support you in thinking through any questions that arise.

Warm wishes for the fall term,

Mary C. Fuller
Professor of Literature and Chair of the MIT Faculty