In response to the Ministry of Education’s visit on April 20th for a school-wide contingency plan review, the University’s distance teaching and learning were also evaluated. The 8th meeting of the Severe Special Infectious Pneumonia Epidemic Prevention was convened at the Ching-Sheng International Conference Hall by Dr. Huan-Chao Keh, the president of Tamkang, and attended by vice presidents, supervisors, directors, and members of the epidemic prevention group.
President Keh reiterated that "Distance teaching is something that has to be done." The drill was conducted to familiarize teachers and students with relevant operations. In the event of a suspension, it can be directly implemented to achieve the goal of "suspending classes without suspending the University." He hopes that all faculties and staffs may well cooperate with the University's epidemic prevention policies, and the University will also act through “plan-do-check-adjust (PDCA)” to the current conditions and recommendations to improve all measures of the epidemic prevention. The purpose of this meeting is to thoroughly evaluate the efficiency of distance teaching and learning drills and to review the operations of the University's epidemic preventions.
The Vice President of Academic Affairs Dr. Chii-Dong Ho reported the current status of distance teaching and learning in response to the epidemic. He explained that the University’s development of distance teaching was announced by our founder Dr. Clement C. P. Chang during the “Education and Administrative Innovation Seminar” in October 2002. Dr. Chang declared that "Distance Teaching" will well establish our online campus. Our University obtained the distance teaching certification from the Ministry of Education of which laid a great foundation by launching the digital in-service master’s program, massive open online courses (MOOCs), the introduction of the iClass platform, and promoting virtual pragmatic courses.
In addition to the University’s collaboration with MS Teams' implementation of overseas real-time distance teaching, the review also includes holding presentations and workshops to support instructors to familiarize themselves with the system, relevant information was also presented on the school's website to enable teachers and students to better understand further details, and the advanced arrangement of physical courses transforming into distance teaching was also mentioned. From April 6th to 11th, simulated courses for distance teaching will be held at the same time and location of the original class. The data usage of the system, including the usage rate of MS Teams and iClass increased significantly. Our University will continue to enhance our systems so distance-learning may be implemented more effectively on the learning outcomes and move on further towards the goal of "Safer Education with Distance Learning".
During the Ministry of Education’s onsite visit, the Vice President of Administrative Affairs Dr. Shi-Feng Chuang made a presentation on the following topics: “Standard Operation Procedures and Categories for Epidemic Prevention”, “Epidemic Reporting Procedures and Hotlines”, “Environmental Cleansing and Disinfection Measures”, “Classroom Ventilation Status”, “Off-campus Internships and Countermeasures ”, "Class Suspension, Resumption, and Make-up Mechanisms", "Distance Teaching Plan Preparations", "Students Returning from Overseas and Teachers/Students Going Abroad "," Epidemic Prevention Regulations for Major Events", "Simulation of How to Handle Confirmed Case?", "Tracking/Tracing Activities of Students At Self-Health Monitoring or Implementing Distance Teaching", "The epidemic prevention regulations for major activities include the relevant measures taken for individual application for the second stage interview on April 25th and 26th, and if Commencement Ceremony may not be held accordingly, it will be organized and held in the University Commons.
President Dr. Huan-Chao Keh explained that entry access controls will allow us to fully grasp all entrant’s status, it is conducive to the investigation of the epidemic in the event of a diagnosis. The Delegate President of the Student Council Zi-You Ma and the Department of Student Rights Chao-Ting Cheng proposed to cancel the unified midterm exam test-taking arrangements in supporting measures, and to understand all matters of Juniors that are studying abroad, hoping to fully grasp and understand all of the University's epidemic prevention information. The Dean of Academic Affairs Dr. Tung-Wen Cheng replied that midterm exams or class sessions may be held in the original classroom and if there are special needs, one may inform the Academic Affairs team for assistance. President Keh instructed Vice President Dr. Kao-Cheng Wang of International Affairs to coordinate and organize all Junior year student’s trips of studying abroad. Furthermore, he instructs Secretary-General Dr. Ay-Hwa Andy Liou to act as the contact person for immediate epidemic prevention information responsible for related information and contacts.
The Dean of General Affairs Dr. Ruey-Shiang Shaw thanked the Student Council for their suggestions through the amendments of the entry access controls and reiterated the principle of the importance to improve based on student’s opinions.
