Instructional video coming soon
This reserved space will contain the narrated overview for Policy Family IX. The written policy below remains the controlling text.
Attendance at Online Class Sessions
A class session conducted through Zoom is a scheduled class meeting—not a listen-only stream that may be attended while traveling, exercising, working, or completing other activities.
Professor Wandt’s teaching style is highly participatory and student-focused. Students will normally be called on at least once during each class session and may be called on multiple times. Every student must therefore remain attentive, follow the discussion, and be prepared to respond, ask questions, contribute to activities, and participate meaningfully throughout the class.
Students attending a Zoom class must join from a safe, stationary, and appropriate location that is conducive to learning. The student must be able to give the class sustained attention, access required course materials, hear and follow the discussion, respond when addressed, and participate professionally when requested.
Students may not attend a Zoom class:
- from inside a car or any other vehicle, whether moving or parked and whether the student is the driver or a passenger;
- while riding a bus, train, subway, airplane, rideshare, or any other form of transportation;
- while walking between locations;
- while exercising or attending from a gym;
- while shopping, running errands, performing job duties, or participating in another activity that interferes with attention; or
- from any environment that is unsafe, excessively distracting, disruptive, or inconsistent with professional participation in a university class.
Merely connecting to Zoom does not establish attendance. Students must be present, attentive, and reasonably available to participate throughout the session. A student who joins from a prohibited or unsuitable environment, repeatedly fails to respond when called upon, or is otherwise not meaningfully present may be directed to leave the session and may be recorded as absent.
Students who cannot attend from an appropriate learning environment should not connect merely to create the appearance of attendance. They should contact Professor Wandt through Discord as early as reasonably possible and follow the course’s attendance and absence procedures. Advance communication does not automatically excuse an absence, but it allows the circumstances to be considered appropriately.
These requirements protect student safety, preserve the learning environment, and ensure that online class sessions receive the same attention and professionalism expected during an in-person class.
Webcam Use During Online Class Sessions
Students are expected to have their webcams turned on throughout every Zoom class session. Because Professor Wandt’s courses emphasize discussion, interaction, and active student participation, visible presence is an important part of the online learning environment.
The webcam requirement serves a direct pedagogical purpose. When teaching in person, Professor Wandt relies on students’ expressions, reactions, and other visual cues to determine whether the class understands the material. The same visual feedback is important during a Zoom class. It helps the professor recognize when a concept requires further explanation, when the pace should change, when an example is effective, and when the discussion should move in a different direction. Seeing the class allows the lecture to remain responsive to students rather than becoming a one-way presentation.
A student who has a legitimate privacy, safety, medical, disability-related, personal-well-being, or comparable concern may request an exemption from the webcam requirement. Professor Wandt will work reasonably and respectfully with students who need such an exemption.
Webcam exemption requests must be made privately through Discord direct message and should ordinarily be submitted before the class session for which the exemption is needed. A student requesting an exemption does not need to send medical records or disclose unnecessary sensitive details through Discord. The student should provide enough information to explain the general nature of the concern and the accommodation being requested.
An exemption may apply to a single class session, a defined period, or the remainder of the course, depending on the circumstances. Unless Professor Wandt has granted an exemption in advance, students must attend Zoom sessions with their webcams on.
An unexpected technical, privacy, safety, or health-related problem arising during class should be reported to Professor Wandt by Discord direct message as soon as reasonably possible. Reporting an unexpected problem does not automatically excuse noncompliance, but it allows the circumstances to be evaluated fairly.
A webcam exemption changes only the camera requirement. The student must still attend from an appropriate learning environment, remain attentive, respond when called upon, and participate fully in the class.
Stay Home When Sick
Students should not attend an in-person class, scheduled in-office meeting, lab, field activity, or other in-person course activity when they have symptoms of a contagious illness or have been advised to remain home under applicable medical, public-health, or College guidance.
Notification and Privacy
A student who misses class because of illness should notify Professor Wandt as soon as practicable through the designated Discord channel or private message. Students should not place detailed medical information in Discord. Medical documentation, when required, will be handled through an appropriate official system.
Health Precautions
Students may use reasonable personal health precautions that do not involve wearing a health or protective face mask in the classroom. Students are not permitted to wear health or protective face masks during an in-person class session unless an approved accommodation or a controlling law or College/CUNY requirement applies. A student who believes an exception is needed should use the applicable official process and notify Professor Wandt by private Discord message as early as possible.
Students must respect lawful and approved health precautions and may not stigmatize, mock, pressure, or harass another person concerning illness or an authorized precaution. A student who is sick should follow the stay-home rule rather than attend class while relying on a mask.
Missed Work
A student who misses class remains responsible for course work. Consistent with the syllabus, approved accommodations, and the circumstances, Professor Wandt may provide access to available notes or an instructor-provided or instructor-authorized recording, identify alternate participation, or adjust a deadline when appropriate.
Medical Emergencies
A student experiencing a medical emergency should seek immediate assistance through emergency services or campus resources before contacting Professor Wandt.