Will the assignments for my subject change?
Instructors will have the opportunity to revise their syllabi for the term. Assignments may change, but additional assignments must not be added. Revised syllabi, including a schedule for assignments and any changes to grading criteria, should be provided to students in the week of March 30, but no later than 5 PM EDT on Friday, April 3. Any changes to assignments after April 3 will need to be approved in advance by the Chair of the Faculty (facultychair-reply@mit.edu).
For subjects in which there is no final exam, all final assignments during the last week of classes will be due by 10 PM EDT on Tuesday, May 12.
In recognition that most instructors have not previously taught online, students are asked to be flexible. If, however, students feel a subject’s assignments have increased or changed without adequate advance notice, they should contact the Chair of the Faculty at exam‑termregs@mit.edu.
Am I still responsible for completing assignments and exams?
Yes. You will be expected to fulfill all assignments and exams.
I am taking/teaching an undergraduate communication-intensive subject. How does this disruption affect the communication assignments?
Given the current circumstances and the shortened term, the curriculum of each communication intensive subject (CI-H, CI-HW, and CI-M) must be reduced by at least one week. It may be necessary for instructors to revise the assignments in such a way that the subjects might not meet the CI criteria in the same way they did when planned and approved. This reduction is likely to interfere with deadlines, and it will not be reasonable to require the same number of assignments in a shorter period of time.
Instructors are asked to determine what is feasible and effective in thoughtfully fulfilling the objectives of the Communication Requirement in the remaining weeks of the term. Emphasizing quality over quantity will be most valuable. Instructors are urged to be flexible about both the quantity and the modality of what students produce.
For more information, please see the guidance from the Subcommittee on the Communication Requirement (SOCR) and direct questions about individual subjects to commreq@mit.edu.
How will my thesis defense be completed?
Thesis defenses may be conducted remotely if necessary. All existing published deadlines for these submissions continue to apply.
How will final exams be given?
Final exams will be done remotely. They will be one to three hours in length and will held during the regularly scheduled exam time EDT, no matter what time zone a student may be in. Conflict exams will be coordinated by the Registrar’s Office as usual. For those students with a conflict exam, notification of the rescheduled exam time will be sent shortly after Drop Date (April 21). The final exam schedule can be found at https://finalexams.mit.edu/#/Finals.
Finals can be either closed book or open book – however, information regarding whether a final will be closed or open book must be provided to students by Drop Date (April 21).