On March 18, 2020, in a message regarding COVID-19 measures at UNB, we informed members of an informal agreement between AUNBT and UNB that Winter 2020 Student Opinion Surveys (SOS) results will not be used in future assessments and will not be entered in members’ official files. At that time, as had been done in an earlier situation, UNB and AUNBT considered that members should nevertheless have the option to include the SOS results in their official if they so choose.
In the process of formalizing this agreement, we were informed by UNB that due to public health measures implemented during the Winter 2020 term, “only one course had SOS fully complete. In addition, no notifications were sent to students so the responses for online surveys, that were open for a period of time until they were closed by ITS, would be very haphazard depending on whether students actually found the link on their own. There was no provision in the online survey for early closure and this had to be done manually by ITS.”
In light of this clarification, AUNBT and UNB agreed that SOS results for Winter 2020 should not be entered in any member’s official file.
The MOU was signed on April 14, 2020, and states:
This memo is to confirm the understanding reached between UNB and AUNBT concerning the use of Student Opinion Surveys in light of the disruption in classes related to the COVID- 19 pandemic and the requirement to move to delivering in-person classes using alternative course delivery methods for the remainder of the Winter 2020 term. The Parties recognize that these circumstances have affected full-time and contract academic staff, as well as students. Therefore, UNB and AUNBT agree that:
- no Winter 2020 Student Opinion Surveys will be included in any Official Files of AUNBT Group 1 and Group 2 members;
- the absence of Winter 2020 Student Opinion Survey data from the Official File shall not adversely affect any AUNBT member, including contract academic instructors, undergoing any form of assessment;
- the absence of Winter 2020 Student Opinion Survey data from an Official File cannot be used in and of itself for assessment purposes;
- AUNBT will inform members by publishing a copy of this memo on the AUNBT website;
- the Office of the Vice-President Academic and the Office of the Vice-President Saint John) will inform their campuses’ respective Deans and Chairs by sending them a copy of this memo; Deans will include a copy of this memo with all files sent to assessment committees and external assessors if the assessment involves external reviewers;
- a copy of this MOU will be added to all Official Files;
- this agreement will be discussed at the joint UNB/AUNBT assessment committee workshops.
AUNBT members may contact the AUNBT Office in the event clarification is required.