"Flexibility" in Policy & Practice


"Flexibility" in Policy & Practice 

This resource offers a brief refresher on flexibility-related requirements for UO instructors, guidance on identifying what flexibility might work for your courses, and a decision tree of instructor-tested, "how-to" options

 


Contents


What is "flexibility" & why is it relevant?

When we talk about "flexibility," we're addressing to what extent, and in what ways, an element of our course structure allows for variability in how students engage with it.

As a pedagogical descriptor, it might pertain to course requirements (such as attendance or assignment deadlines); it might also refer to practices of providing more than one way that students might access class content, participate, or be assessed. 

Conversations about flexibility recently have stemmed from several interrelated areas:

Finding flexibility that works: 3 steps

For some instructors, the recent intersection of flexibility-related UO requirements, informal student requests, and instructors' own goals has felt like a considerable challenge. Some faculty have experienced increased requests for flexibility from students who do not have an approved AEC "Flexibility in Attendance..." or "Flexibility in Assignment Deadlines..." accommodations as well as increases in the number of students who do hold these two important AEC accommodations. Instructors have also had to simultaneously ensure that their policies around attendance and engagement--including any available flexibility--is reason-neutral, universally available, and transparently communicated. 

Instructors who haven't yet found a balance that feels supportive of their students, of their course goals, and of their own capacity might consider the following three steps:

  1. Double-check flexibility-related UO requirements
  2. Consider the parameters of the course
  3. Identify your goal, and explore which decision-tree option best meets it


Step 1: double-check flexibility-related UO requirements.
 

Course Attendance & Engagement Policy

Click on the tabs below for a brief refresher! Does this match your current policy/practice?

Goal of the policy

Part of the policy's goal was to ensure that any flexibility in how absences and late work are treated does not depend on 1) student comfort disclosing a challenge or requesting an exception, or 2) instructors having to determine which reasons for absence are subjectively permissible and which are not. While instructors still determine how many absences are reasonable before grades are impacted, whether work can be made up, etc., the course policy you set transparently identifies the limits of that flexibility and applies to all.

Scope & requirements of the policy

Instructors' course policies on absences, how absences effect grades, and the conditions under which work can be made up (if applicable) should be:

  • reason neutral (all absences, regardless of reason, are treated the same, and students are not asked to supply a reason)*
  • made with the assumption that unexpected events will occur for students 
  • available to all students equally and communicated transparently, including in the syllabus at the beginning of the term

To create a "reason neutral" policy, you'll want to choose one of the following approaches:

  1. You set your attendance policy with extraordinary circumstances students may experience in mind in mind, allowing the maximum number of absences a student could have and still reach the course learning objectives, or  
  2. You set your attendance policy with common reasons students would need to miss in mind, and you include a clause in the policy letting students in extraordinary circumstances know that they can (and how they can) request flexibility from you without disclosing details, or
  3. You do not require course attendance. 

*Exceptions to this include religious accommodation and two specific flexibility-related AEC accommodations.

Read "Enacting the Senate's Course Attendance and Engagement Policy" for more information 

AEC Flexibility-Related Accommodations

Click on the tabs below for a brief refresher! Does this match your current policy/practice?

Goal of the two accommodations

The Accessible Education Center (AEC) has two accommodations that relate to flexibility:

  •  "Flexibility in Attendance When Necessary Due to a Disability-Related Event" and
  • "Flexibility in Assignment Deadlines When Necessary Due to a Disability-Related Event."

AEC's goal with each is​​​​​​ "to provide students opportunities to demonstrate mastery of course material and/or engagement in the course, even when disability limits their ability to meet established deadlines or attend each course session. [...] course deadlines and attendance policies can create a disproportionate barrier for students with disabilities, while not necessarily being critical to the key learning objectives of the course."

Scope and requirements of the accommodations

These accommodations are intended for acute, unpredictable, disability-related events that coincide with a scheduled class session (attendance) or a course deadline (assignment deadlines). When requesting that the accommodation be used, students are responsible for to communicating with instructors either prior to a missed class or deadline, or as soon as possible afterwards.

The scope/requirements of these do not do the following:

  • they don't confer unlimited or blanket flexibility  
  • they don't waive participation requirements
  • they don't require instructors to record classes or re-teach classes
  • they don't allow students to design their own deadlines for the term

They do require that instructors respond to student communication in one of the two following ways when contacted about the student needing a disability-related adjustment to attendance/ an assignment deadline:

  • By emailing the student back to confirm the adjustment has been made, or
  • By contacting AEC if concerned that an adjustment will interfere with course learning objectives, and together with AEC, decide next steps

Instructors cannot deny an AEC accommodation themselves. But they can (and should!) contact AEC with any concerns and questions; AEC staff know that instructors who contact them are invested in student success, and they know an accommodation in the context of a specific course frequently requires more conversation!

Read AEC's "Guidance for Flexibility in Attendance and Assignment Deadlines" for more information


Step 2: identify key parameters of your course.
 

Flexibility and structure go together. Parameters--those set features or necessary characteristics of your course--provide a natural structure to work within; if flexibility doesn't fit within pedagogically necessary parameters, things break.

Those parameters might include things like course learning objectives; course modality; scaffolding that is crucial to learning/demonstrating learning; mechanisms designed into the class to support and motivate student engagement; collaboration on work as a feature of the course; if class is synchronous, what format students are primarily learning within (primarily lecture, discussion, application in lab, etc). In addition, we are all humans with finite time and energy. 

If you haven't already, consider reflecting on questions like those below to better identify them.

Questions to help identify course parameters*
  1. Would a student missing a certain number/percent or type of classes no longer be able to meet course learning objectives? If so, what is that number/percent?
     
  2. Is there anything crucial about the scaffolding of assessments that would constrain deadline flexibility? For example, if assignments are iterative and revision is part of your learning objectives, how flexible might a deadline be before it impacts the next stage of work?
     
  3. Is collaboration a key feature of the course? If so, what level of flexibility in deadlines still allows for that collaboration?
     
  4. Are students primarily learning during class from lecture, from discussions between peers, from hands-on activities, or something else?
     
  5. If the course is in person or hybrid and you know the classroom, what technology is available in it already (you can search the UO Classroom Equipment & Technology webpage to find out more)?
     
  6. Is there anything you want to keep in mind about your own needs and limitations when considering non-AEC flexibility requests and your policies/practices? 
Example of course parameters an instructor might identify

For an entry-level communications course, an instructor might determine that:

  • Given their learning objectives, and the fact that collaboration is key to the course structure, it would not be feasible for a student to succeed and for the class to succeed if they miss more than 20% of classes (but they could succeed with 20% or fewer).
  • Because the assessments are tightly scaffolded, for one type of recurrent assessment, students could possibly have 2-3 days flexibility before turning it in, but probably not more than that. For the couple summative assessments, students could have more than that--up to a week? But for any flexibility, would need a way to limit how many times students would be able to submit past deadline so grading and feedback is sustainable.
  • Students are primarily learning through lecture and in hands-on activities in small groups.
  • The in-person class is usually in rooms that are not hyflex.
  • The instructor struggled with providing remote access during the pandemic, and with the impact on their own workflow planning of having many students turn in late work repeatedly.
​​​​​​*​​​​​​This guidance does not apply to enacting AEC accommodations, which have their own process. Instructors with any questions or concerns about implementing a student's Flexible Attendance and/or Flexible Assignment Deadline AEC accommodation should contact AEC (uoaec@uoregon.edu).


Step 3: identify your flexibility goal & use the decision-tree to meet it
 

We see four general areas in which instructors may want to create flexibility for students through course design. Your goal might be to create flexibility in:

(A) Accessing content from in-person class

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(B) Alternatives to in-class participation

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(C) The number of absences students can still succeed with

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(D) How assignment or exam deadlines are treated

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How an instructor does them will depend on the parameters of the course, including whether the information and engagement during a given class comes primarily through lecture, discussion or seminar, or lab. 

 
(A) I want students to be able to access content from my live, in-person class.
 

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Courses are not expected to work as a modality other than the one listed (an in-person course is not also a hybrid course, for example). Offering one more way for students to access the content from an in-person class doesn't mean offering an equivalence, but instead offering an additional learning support where an instructor is interested in doing so. This can be valuable both for students who were absent as well as for students who were present and would benefit from reviewing elements of the class not captured in student notes.

 

What options have uo faculty used?

Explore by option:

Posting instructor-generated slides or notes

If you use slides, consider posting them in a consistent place. If you don't use slides or notes, even using a detailed overview in any weekly or unit-level modules is supportive.

Posting discussion questions

While the questions themselves aren't a replacement for discussion, posting them if you do not already allows students who were absent to use them in reflection, and students who attend to use them in preparation, and is an example of a universal design approach. This is valuable even if the posted questions and ones posed in the moment are not identical.

Setting up collaborative student notetaking

Instructors have used this successfully in classes of varying sizes, but we've heard of the most success when structured, routine, incentivized, and referenced by instructors and students. 

An instructor can set up collaborative notetaking students access through Canvas by:

  • Providing an accessible template in Word for notes, so notes are consistent Include in the template any recurrent types of information students should expect to populate
  • Linking this template in Canvas in a place students will routinely access (such as a Home page, if you use one)
  • Structuring notetaking as part of participation (if you allocate points to it or incentivize or value it in other ways)
  • Identifying how students will share this responsibility (for example, if students are in standing groups, groups rotate responsibility, or students with last names A--C should contribute in a given week)
  • Referencing notes in class, so students can see their utility
Making and posting audio or video recordings of class

You may wish to use the application you are most familiar with, and the technology that is in the room. If needed, you can find guidance below under "Creating a basic but functional recording of class," and can also contact us for a consultation on what might work best for your work flow and context.

Offering a Zoom remote option

This option is most effective in supporting student learning in an in-person class when the instructor is transparent about when to use it, and what it does/does not offer in comparison to in-person attendance.

Explore by course instruction type & which options may fit each:

Your course is primarily lecture

You might post slides/notes, make audio or video recordings of class, or (if clear about when to use and what it does/does not provide) offer a Zoom option.

Your course is primarily discussion or seminar

In a course where knowledge is primarily being constructed through discussion with peers, consider posting discussion questions routinely and/or setting up collaborative student notetaking.

Your course is primarily lab

Consider posting slides/notes, making audio or video recordings of a portion of class that might include demonstrations, or (if clear about when to use and what it does/does not provide) offering a Zoom option.

In labs where demonstrations would make recording from a fixed position challenging and where useful recordings are brief, instructors can invite students to record and post in a common space (such as a running discussion thread for this purpose).

Decision tree for recording

If you're considering recording your in-person class, we encourage aiming for basic but functional. For guidance, check out our webpage on Classroom Recording, and/or follow the decision-tree below to identify what setup will work best for you as an individual. 

What digital technology are you already routinely using in class? 
  • I don't yet use any tech: contact us for a consultation that considers your specific classroom, tools, and work flow.
  • I use a document camera and projector, but no computer/laptop: contact us for a consultation that considers your specific classroom, tools, and work flow.
  • I use a projector and computer/laptop, and I project slides or other content from my computer: great--keep going!
Who is speaking that you'll want to record, and what should you use for a microphone? 
  • Just me/the instructor
    • Mainly from one location in the room? If yes,
      • Does your room have a microphone?
        • Yes! Connect your laptop to it and use this one.
        • No! That's ok--in terms of audibility, unless your room has challenging acoustics, you can simply use your built-in computer mic.
    • While moving around the room (or if the room has wacky acoustics)? If yes,
      • You will likely want to use an external microphone
  • Multiple people are speaking that I want to record--both myself/instructor and students
    • Would repeating student comments/questions yourself work? If yes, keep going!
    • If it feels important to record multiple voices, contact us for a consultation--depending on the room you are in, there are several options.
If visuals are also important to capture, what are those visuals?
  • Slides: great--recording this will be straightforward
  • Demonstration of something in the room: if you already have a plan for this (for example, you're in a HyFlex room and you use the existing camera), great--if not, contact us for a consultation.
What program is easiest for you to use to record in?

 
(B) I want to offer alternatives to in-class participation
 

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Instructors who integrate participation into the course in a formal way may wish to offer a standing "make-up" opportunity for in-class participation. The focus of the alternative participation might be to have students demonstrate engagement with content/learning objectives of the missed class; it could also be a more personal focus that allows the student to connect course content with their individual their interests and motivations. If having alternative participation posted in a shared space would build community or group knowledge around a concept, instructors can set up a Discussion post in Canvas, or ask students to attend office hours to share it. If having the submissions be only read by the instructor is preferred, it can be submitted as a standing Assignment or Survey in Canvas.

While "alternatives to in-class participation" here relates to missing a class, we want to note that in in-person classes, "participation" is not synonymous with "speaking." Ideally students have more than one way to participate during class. For ideas related to Universal Design and participation, visit the Universal Design for Learning page or connect for a consultation.

What options have uo faculty used?
  1. Having standing written (or recorded) assignments submitted via Canvas that relate to the content from the missed class. The instructions don't change for these, and they have just one place for submission throughout the term, regardless of the class missed. In addition these assignments frequently:
    • Are limited (students can do X number of them)
    • Ask students to review whatever recurrent learning objects you make available--slides, readings for the day, etc.
    • Pose a handful of questions the student should address X number of (questions that ask them to identify key information, pose or further a critical question, identify where a concept or skill applies in the world around them, etc.)
  2. Having students attend office hours and bring their thoughts and questions around content that was the focus of the missed class. If this appeals, it may be useful to let students know that the point is not to obtain missed content, and they may wish to bring notes on their thinking, just as they would in class)
  3. Having standing written (or recorded) assignments submitted via Canvas that are not tied to specific content from the missed class, but that relate to both the discipline and their individual experience (for example, a music history class might invite a student to choose an album from an era and region they don't know well, listen to part of it, and write about what they notice).

 
(C) I want to assess the range of attendance students can succeed with.
 

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We know there is a correlation between regularly attending class and succeeding in a course. Students who may be struggling--whether due to illness, crisis, or simply difficulties with planning or other executive functioning are not necessarily well-served by having a fully flexible attendance policy for an in-class course. But significant illness, death of someone close, family or work stressors--these will happen for some of the students in our classes in any given term, and we want them to be able to take off when needed and still succeed in our classes.

Identifying what range of attendance we might write into our policy is in part identifying the parameters of our course--both for individual student learning, and for the course as a collective of learners. To get there, you might ask:

  • What attendance level does the course's specific learning objectives require? Can a student reach the learning objectives if they miss 5 classes? 6? At what point would meeting them not be feasible?
  • Is collaboration or group work core to the class, and if so, what impacts does attendance and absence have on it?

Once you have identified the maximum number of absences a student could miss and still possibly succeed in the class and that will still allow you to retain the general structure of your course, consider whether you would like some kind of explicit statement noting that students who attend more classes are more likely to succeed in the course and in their learning (and those who have more absences may be at risk of not passing). 

If you do not have a certain number of classes that students must attend to pass, and this is working for you and your students, there is no need to change things. It is likely that they are experiencing a level of community that supports accountability in attending whenever possible.

What options have uo faculty used?
  • Naming the maximum number of absences students can have for any reason (in alignment with the reason-neutral Course Attendance and Engagement Policy), but not applying any grade deductions related to those absences
  • Naming the maximum number of absences students can have, but at a certain number below that maximum, levying a small grade deduction (usually through participation, if this is graded)

 
(D) I want to create some flexibility in how assignment or exam deadlines are treated
 

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Many instructors have experimented with flexibility in deadlines over the last several years. Because the Attendance and Engagement Policy specifies that all deadline flexibility must be universally and transparently offered, this is an opportunity to reflect on what level of flexibility is sustainable.

As with our note on attendance, flexibility and structure are supportive when in tandem in terms of deadlines. Deadlines help our/our student's planning processes, and removing them completely is rarely useful. For many instructors, having no flexibility in assignment deadlines has been problematic, as students will have moments of unexpected crisis.

What options have uo faculty used?
  • A set number of "oops" tokens for assignments that allow students to be late for a specific number of days and still submit work (for example, all students have 3 instances where they can submit an assignment within three days of the due date, no questions asked.
  • A subset of assignments that can be submitted up to X days past their due date (as late submission may not work for all types of assignments).
  • Allowing any assignment to be submitted late within a given time frame, but levying a point deduction for late submissions
  • Dropping the lowest 1-2 submissions for a given type of assignment (for example, dropping the two lowest quiz scores)
  • Allowing quizzes to be made up within several days (with point deductions, possibly), and not releasing grades or answer keys until after this window closes. If the quiz or exam would have been completed during class, instructors have:
    • Allowed a set number of quizzes or an exam to be completed during the instructor's office hours that week, or
    • Scheduled separate quiz and exam "make-up" options. Instructors who wish to limit the number of students accessing this option can do so ("the first five students who contact me will secure these spots")

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