Message from the President about Fall 2020 Academic Operations

Dear CAU Community,

If it were not for the Covid-19 pandemic, you might have been excited to finish your final exams and make plans for the upcoming summer break. Instead, we have lost track of time in the middle of the daunting crisis and it’s just hard to believe that we are already into July.

First of all, I would like to thank you all for your unwavering support that enabled us to make it through this semester without any major problems such as spread of infection on campus. You did a great job in taking courses and exams in an unexpected way to finish this semester despite unprecedented challenges caused by the ongoing outbreak. I believe all of this has been possible as we spared no effort to successfully complete this semester together as a member of CAU Community. I deeply appreciate your kind understanding and cooperation.

The number of confirmed cases seems to keep rising in July, which means uncertainty may continue and restrictions may remain in place. Under these circumstances, it is important to make prompt decisions on academic operations for the next semester and inform you as early as possible. So I am sending this letter to announce the direction of Fall 2020 academic operations decided at the latest CAU Academic Board meeting on July 7.  

The university is coming up with a new academic operations plan that will be implemented in five phases depending on the severity of the spread of Covid-19 and has confirmed that we are now in Phase 3. 

 Fall 2020 will be operated as follows under Phase 3:

First, in Fall 2020, classes will be offered either in person or remotely.

For undergraduate courses of which nature is not suited for remote delivery such as practice-based ones or those that include lab experiments will be offered in-person along with all courses at graduate schools which could be offered remotely if necessary.

For lecture-based courses, major prerequisites and courses of which number of attendees are 20 or below will be given the priority to be delivered in-person. Or, if necessary, class attendees will be divided into groups so that each group can take turns to attend classes. Also, some courses could be delivered both in-person and remotely.

For in-person lectures, the university will take all necessary measures for the safety of our students including giving out government safety guidelines to instructors, installing infrared cameras, checking body temperatures and disinfecting classrooms. Also, we will make sure that students who are unable to take in-person classes suffer no disadvantage by providing them with class materials and access to recorded lectures.

Second, students will be evaluated using an absolute grading scale, which is the same as the Spring semester.

Third, students graduating next February will also be exempted from submitting their English/Chinese Characters/Korean Language exam certificates required for graduation to lessen their burden of starting their career in this tough time.

The Fall 2020 academic schedules are as follows:

July 8, 2020

○ Announcement on plans for Fall 2020 academic operations (for undergraduate/graduate schools)

- Criteria for online/in-person class operations, grading system, etc.

July 15, 2020

○ Guidelines on Fall 2020 course operations

- Course operations manuals and guidelines (for instructors and students)

July 20, 2020

○ Announcement on courses to be delivered in person

July 27, 2020

○ Announcement on course timetable and syllabus

Aug 5-6, 2020

○ Course Add/Drop Period (Edit Wish List Items: Aug 11)

Aug 18-20, 2020

○ Course Registration Period

Sep 1, 2020

○ Start of Fall 2020

Furthermore, we will keep monitoring how the outbreak unfolds and policy changes by the Ministry of Education while operating the next semester following the five-phase approach. We will inform you of any changes we make for Fall 2020 operations in a prompt manner.

Dear CAU Community,

Upon forecasts that the ongoing outbreak will not end and we will be coexisting with Covid-19, there has been heated discussion on what the new normal after the Covid-19 pandemic would be like.

Remote instruction which started inevitably in the early stage of the outbreak has become a new normal and the faculty-student interactions have changed from just offering and taking classes to sharing and spreading knowledge to create new knowledge. As universities in Korea are considering opening online classes to the public, physical and time limitations of classroom teaching are disappearing. Also, public awareness of the importance of not only teaching but also learning and coaching is increasing rapidly.

I think of social movements made towards the new normal in education as part of digital transformation. Though we are going through a difficult time, the university will be committed to preparing for the new normal in education with a deep sense of responsibility by pondering upon the major roles and duties a university must have to lead higher education in Korea.

This summer might be a particularly tough one, but I hope you could enjoy summer vacation to the fullest. Please stay healthy and be safe. Thank you.

CAU President

Park Sang Gue