Guidance for Faculty and Students
Teachers College is committed to the in-person classroom experience and we have returned to classes being held in-person unless they are part of an online degree program or designated as an online course in the registration system.
As stated above, TC has returned to in-person instruction and we are no longer accepting requests for temporary or long term remote access due to COVID-19 related reasons as we did in the Fall 2021 and Spring 2022 terms. For those students who were approved for long term remote access during the Fall 2021 and/or Spring 2022 semesters due to medical conditions that put them at risk for COVID-19 complications, please note that this was not considered a disability-related accommodation and will no longer apply.
Students experiencing disability-related barriers they believe are preventing them from attending class in person and engaging in a meaningful learning experience may contact OASID at oasid@tc.columbia.edu to discuss whether they may be eligible to receive disability-related accommodations.
Remote access to an in-person Teachers College course is restricted to those students who cannot attend for COVID-19 related reasons. Temporary access to remote instruction can be granted in the following cases:
Students must request and receive permission directly from their instructor for temporary remote access prior to class. Students Affairs does not need to review these requests.
Lack of vaccination or booster shot without an approved medical or religious exemption is not grounds for remote instruction. An approved COVID-19 and flu vaccination is a requirement to enroll in classes at Teachers College.
In other cases where students are unable to attend class, remote access is not an option. For example, non-COVID-19 illness or work or family responsibilities. In these cases alternative accommodations should be made available, for example class recording, office hours, make-up sessions or shared class notes.
Long-term Remote Access to classes is being considered for students who were approved for Long-term Remote Access in the Fall 2021 semester only. In-person students from the Fall 2021 semester will not be eligible to request Long-term Remote access for the Spring 2022 semester. Remote access to Teachers College classes for COVID-related reasons for more than three consecutive classes or 10 days (whichever is shorter) requires approval through the Division of Student Affairs. Please email returntocampus@tc.columbia.edu with requests for approval to study remotely on a Long-term basis. As a reminder, failure to comply with vaccination requirements is not grounds for Long-term remote access.
Teachers College is obligated to notify NYC Health + Hospitals of positive COVID-19 tests and we also maintain our own contact tracing system. Therefore, faculty who are notified by a student of a positive COVID-19 test must tell the student to report their result to the college.
In addition to this reporting requirement DFI will select a random sample of 85 instructors who will be sent a survey asking two questions.
These results will be used to monitor the extent to which remote access is being utilized.
Converting an entire class from in-person to remote instruction should be limited to the following COVID-19 related circumstances:
Remote access for more than three classes or 10 days (whichever is shorter) must be approved by Department Chairs and the Provost. These classes will be re-coded as online by the Registrar.