Remote Teaching Information and Resources

This web page has been created to provide information, tools and resources for remote teaching.

Educational Continuity Guidelines

We encourage you to use your best judgment in implementing these guidelines keeping in mind the paramount importance of ensuring the health and safety of our community, as well as the great importance of maintaining educational continuity for our students.

Ordinary attendance policies should be applied to remote classes, subject to adjustments that an instructor may make to take into account the nature and status of the situation giving rise to the suspension of in-person classes. When considering adjustments to attendance policies, please keep in mind not only the possibility of student illness, but also the possibility of students who may be caregivers to family members who are ill or to children who may need to be cared for in the event of school closures.

Attendance and timely login to the class can be tracked using the UCI Law Attendance App. Students will sign in by entering a “word of the day” that will be provided at the beginning of each class. It is a violation of the Honor Code to share the “word of the day” with anyone or to sign in for a late or absent student. Instructors needing assistance with the UCI Law Attendance App should contact their faculty assistants.

All remote classes should be held on the same days and at the same times indicated in the normal schedule of classes. This is essential in order to avoid scheduling conflicts. Class sessions—including online sessions—should only be rescheduled by the Registrar (registrar@law.uci.edu). Instructors requesting rescheduling should contact the Registrar as far in advance as possible.

As part of its educational continuity plan, UCI campus administration has required that all instructors keep their Canvas gradebooks complete and up-to-date. This is to ensure that if the instructor or other course staff become ill or are under quarantine, an accurate record of all assignment scores will be accessible, so that students can receive their course grades in a timely manner. In addition, it is essential that instructors grade all assignments promptly and without delay.

As part of its educational continuity plan, UCI campus administration has required that all instructors place key course documents (e.g., syllabi, assignments, reading lists) on Canvas, so that students can access them remotely even if unable to come to campus due to illness or quarantine. For assistance with Canvas, please contact your faculty assistant.

As part of its educational continuity plan, UCI campus administration has required that all instructors ensure that final exams can be reliably collected and graded, and that course grades can be computed and submitted on time, even if the instructor or other course staff becomes ill or is quarantined.

To that end, please plan for the possibility of giving a take-home exam or other final written assignment that students can complete at home or at another safe off-campus location, and that students can submit to you for grading by email or electronically. Please be sure that the exam format you use protects the anonymity of students in accordance with the School of Law’s grading policies. If you need assistance administering a take-home exam or other final written assignment, please contact your faculty assistant. If you have questions about the School of Law’s grading policies, please contact Liz Schroeder, Assistant Dean for Student Services (lschroeder@law.uci.edu).

As noted above, it is important that instructors grade assignments promptly and keep their Canvas gradebooks up-to-date. In the event you become ill prior to submission of grades and have any concerns about timely submission of grades, please contact your faculty assistant and Dean Schroeder as soon as possible.

If you are temporarily unable to continue teaching due to illness or other personal emergency, please contact the following two people as soon as possible so that efforts can be made to ensure coverage of your course and to inform affected students:

  • Professor Trilby Robinson-Dorn, Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, trobinsondorn@law.uci.edu
  • Liz Schroeder, Assistant Dean for Student Services, lschroeder@law.uci.edu
  • Information Technology: IT Helpdesk, help@law.uci.edu
  • Canvas: Please contact your faculty assistant.
  • Course Attendance App: Please contact your faculty assistant.
  • Course Rescheduling: Please contact Stephanie M. Santoro, Registrar, ssantoro@law.uci.edu
  • Exams and Grades
    • Liz Schroeder, Assistant Dean for Student Services at lschroeder@law.uci.edu
    • Stephanie M. Santoro, Registrar, ssantoro@law.uci.edu
  • Instructor Illness
    • Professor Trilby Robinson-Dorn, Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, trobinsondorn@law.uci.edu
    • Liz Schroeder, Assistant Dean for Student Services at lschroeder@law.uci.edu 

As we work to respond to this evolving situation, we unfortunately do not expect to have the capacity to provide individualized feedback on each instructor’s specific plans for implementing these guidelines. However, the following members of the School of Law administration will do their best to be available for consultation on a time-available basis:

For Full-Time School of Law Staff:

  • ASP Instructors: Dr. Jennah Jones, Assistant Dean for Student Affairs and Inclusive Excellence, jjones@law.uci.edu
  • Clinical and Externship Instructors: Professor Carrie Hempel, Associate Dean for Clinical Education and Service Learning, chempel@law.uci.edu
  • Lawyering Skills Instructors: Professor Rachel Croskery-Roberts, Associate Dean for Lawyering Skills, rcroskery@law.uci.edu
  • Library Instructors: Professor Jessica Wimer, Associate Dean of the Law Library, jwimer@law.uci.edu
  • Other Instructors: Professor Stephen Lee, Stephen Lee, Associate Dean for Faculty Research and Development, slee@law.uci.edu

For Lecturers/Unit 18 Instructors (other than ASP, Clinical, Externship, Lawyering Skills, Library): Professor Trilby Robinson-Dorn, Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, trobinsondorn@law.uci.edu

Technology for Remote Instruction

UCI Law's Technology for Remote Instruction web page provides guidance and answers to frequently asked technology questions, including tips and tutorials for Zoom Pro and Canvas.

Remote Teaching Resources 

Reminders for Virtual Teaching

Here are some reminders compiled by the Teaching and Learning Committee:

  1. Email students with slides or visuals the day/evening prior to class, and follow up via email with new visuals created during class;
  2. Remember to press “Record” at the beginning of your Zoom class. Especially given school closures and dependent caretaking responsibilities, not all students will be able to participate in virtual classes at the scheduled time;
  3. Schedule additional office hours, including drop-in online time/chat rooms and scheduled appointments to remain available and responsive to students;
  4. Consider using multiple assessments, tools, and activities that will help students stay engaged and practice applying what they are learning in the online classroom, such as exercises, quizzes, hypos, discussion boards, or visuals;
  5. Creating community is an important part of virtual teaching. Virtual study group meetings, regular virtual office hours, discussion boards for questions and check-ins, video messages of support, etc., can all help our students feel connected.