UMass Boston

Planning for Student Absences

TEACH Team Event, January 20, 2022: Student absences and Effective Techniques to Facilitate Continued Learning

The resources shared here are strategies for continued learning despite multiple sequential or prolonged student absences. The resources have been collected through a crowdsourcing effort at UMass Boston and are by faculty for faculty. Given the changing nature of the COVID-19 virus and as the public health crisis continues, multiple and sequential student absences are likely to be part of the ongoing learning landscape, especially due to the disproportionate nature of the impacts of COVID-19. Two years into this public health crisis, we now know that unavoidable absences are occurring due to contracting COVID-19, having COVID-19 symptoms, caring for family members who are impacted by COVID-19, childcare closures, and mental health challenges that are amplified by both COVID-19 and ongoing systemic racism.