Dean Dombalagian's Message, March 21

March 21, 2020

Dear Students:

We are well on our way to setting up Zoom meetings for each of your regularly scheduled courses (including make-up classes under the revised schedule). I write to provide a bit more information on how I envision this will work during the first week of classes.

First, I hope you have already had the chance to review the revised Spring 2020 class meeting schedule, which is available on the public website as well as through the Student FAQ. This schedule covers all regularly scheduled classes, including make-up classes due to the university hiatus, subject to the exceptions therein. The URL is:

https://law.tulane.edu/sites/default/files/REVISED%20SPRING%202020%20CLASS%20SCHEDULE.pdf

Each of your regularly scheduled classes is expected to take place in a Zoom meeting with a recurring meeting ID and URL. As discussed during Thursday’s Q&A, we have compiled a spreadsheet with the recurring meeting IDs currently assigned to your regularly scheduled classes. If there is no meeting ID associated with your course (or an explanation in lieu thereof), please consult the professor or supervisor for the course. The spreadsheet may be found at:

https://tulane.box.com/s/tsocauovyh67pfqzhh3ee21i6j7oof7j (SSO login to Box required)

Please note that we may need to update these meeting IDs over the next few days as we resolve technical issues, so it is best to confirm the meeting ID each morning before classes start. If you and your professor are familiar with Canvas, you will likely find the individual meeting times and URLs on the Zoom page in your Canvas course: however, there is no obligation to learn how to use Canvas for purposes of completing the semester.

Your professors will communicate any cancelations and additional make-up classes individually with you as they normally do. These meetings will likely have different meeting IDs than your regularly scheduled classes. Your professors will also provide you with separate meeting IDs for office hours, break-out sessions, and other activities.

My hope is that, after a week of getting acclimated to the Zoom environment, finding and using the meeting ID for an activity will be no more difficult than remembering the room in which a make-up class would otherwise take place. I urge you to be patient for the first few classes, particularly with our adjunct faculty who have to surmount additional technical challenges to use our conferencing system (while undertaking similar efforts in their virtual offices to maintain their professional obligations).

In this regard, it might be prudent to take a moment, as you prepare your workspaces for class, to consider what others can see behind you. Over the past few days, we have had the opportunity to see everyone in intimate surroundings—some more intimate than others—and we exhort you to be careful when turning video feeds on to maintain appropriate decorum.

Finally, we have updated the FAQ on the Intranet: there you will find a link to a recording of the Q&A with the Deans, information about textbooks that are available electronically, information on companies providing free internet assistance, and other important information.

Best regards,

Onnig H. Dombalagian

Vice Dean for Academic Affairs and George Denègre Professor of Law