MILLEDGEVILLE –– As COVID cases continue to rise among students and staff in Georgia’s public universities, GC360 has obtained an official document detailing repercussions for faculty who choose to teach online.

The memo was transmitted from the Board of Regents to Provosts in all 26 USG institutions. From there it was distributed to deans and ultimately department chairs.

The document reiterates again that the USG system offers “full in-person instruction in Fall 2021 to maximize the student learning experience,” the memo states. “No institution may change the over modality of their instruction.”

According to the document, instructors who need to quarantine due to COVID exposure or a positive test can only do so with the approval of the institution’s Provost. The request would have to be made by the dean or associate dean.

“In the event that an instructor is not able to teach due to his or her own illness, the department head will make other arrangement to cover the classes for the instructor,” the memo said.

Under the procedure, faculty who do not follow those steps or move a course online without approval will first receive a “verbal warning.” A second missed lecture will lead to a “written reprimand.” The professor would then be “expected to meet their class at the next scheduled class period in the original modality”

According to the memo, any instructor who continues to teach online without approval, or misses a third lecture with no recorded illness will face “suspension, reduction in duties or placement on administrative without pay is appropriate.”

“Consideration for dismissal will commence according to USG and University policy,” the memo concluded.