The following is a snapshot account of how TC’s administration, Office of Digital Learning, TC Information Technology (including Academic Technology Services), Office of Access and Services for Individuals (OASID) and others thought through, responded to and completed the directive to move all 775 spring courses on line over a nine-day period in early March.

Monday, March 2

• Stephanie Rowley, Provost and Dean of the College, reaches out to Veronica Thomas, Director of ODL to say that she is working with TC President Thomas Bailey to consider ways to manage COVID-19 on campus if the need should arise.
• ODL prepares TC Online Considerations, a table of considerations and recommendations for three scenarios: 1) TC is open but some students are unable to come to campus; 2) TC is open but the instructor is unable to come to campus, and students must participate in class online; and 3) TC is closed and instructors can pre-record their lectures. ODL’s recommendations include finding out which courses have students who need to complete the courses in order to graduate in May and making sure those courses have an online backup plan; and recruiting experienced online instructors across TC to function as mentors to others in their departments and across the College.

Wednesday, March 4

• Representatives of the Provost, VP of Operations, TCIT and ODL meet to discuss questions about teaching online. Emphasis is placed on a synchronous teaching modality to present the lowest barrier to entry for most professors who were new to teaching online, recognizing that measures of expediency would not be truly representative of an intentionally designed remote learning experience.
• Veronica Thomas and Debbie Beaudry, Director of ATS, begin drafting an Academic Continuity questionnaire to assess needs around teaching and learning online.

Thursday, March 5

• The Academic Continuity Questionnaire is sent to TC educators to discover who was most in need of immediate assistance to teach online in the event of school closure.
• The Academic Continuity Team is formed to provide rapid support to faculty in preparing their courses to be available online. A cross-departmental initiative between ODL and ATS, the Academic Continuity Team also works to ensure that ODL and ATS are aligned in communicating with and training faculty. In subsequent weeks, the team grows to include members of ODL, ATS, OASID, and senior administration.

Friday, March 6

• TCIT creates a central inbox to field inquiries about teaching online.
• ODL creates the “Academic Continuity Planning” site and the “Learning Online @ TC” site. Both sites curate resources developed by ODL, ATS, and OASID to address issues and needs around teaching and learning online.
• ODL starts the “Colleague-to-Colleague” initiative, through which instructors experienced in using Zoom coach colleagues.

Sunday, March 8

• President Bailey announces that TC classes will be suspended on March 9^th and March 10^th and will continue online through Spring Break.

Monday, March 9 and Tuesday, March 10

• TC classes are suspended.
• Bi-weekly COVID-19 Task Force Meetings begin, with senior managers from academic and administrative offices surfacing challenges and providing updates on the actions each office is taking to address emerging questions and the challenges of the crisis.
• Academic Continuity outreach efforts ramp up to ensure everyone receives needed help to prepare their courses for online delivery.

Wednesday, March 11

• TC is fully online.