Letter to Students: Covid-19 Learning Update

Dear IYA undergraduate students,

With the recent surge of COVID-19 cases in California, we are carefully monitoring public health conditions in Los Angeles and continuing to take steps that relate to the health and safety of our students, faculty, and staff.

At this time, the Academy is continuing to work toward the plan to provide in-person academic instruction this fall. As we do this, the health and safety of our community is paramount, and we are implementing protocols and guidelines provided to us by the university, city, state, and CDC. As was confirmed in the July 15 COVID-19 Health Advisory from the Office of Student Health, when practiced diligently, these measures have been effective in preventing the spread of the illness.

We do want to reiterate for all students that, in addition to courses offered fully online, all-online options remain available for courses currently scheduled for in-person class sessions. As was clarified previously, in the cases of ACAD 376 Discerning and Making and ACAD 240 Materials, while we are unable to offer these courses online, students may opt to delay taking them to a later semester while still staying on track for graduation. All students, including students who will be either on campus or commuting to campus in the fall, are welcome to select these options on a course by course basis.

For planning purposes and to assist our faculty in preparing the student learning experience, we are asking students who are already intending to go fully online in a course that is currently scheduled for in-person class sessions to officially opt-in to the all-online modality through surveys that will go out to students from our faculty this week. Students who select this option now will be able to change their selection at any time, as will students who are currently opting for in-person. IYA majors will also receive a more generic survey from IYA Student Affairs. WE URGE YOU TO PLEASE CHECK YOUR EMAIL REGULARLY AND RESPOND TO EACH SURVEY WITHIN 24 HOURS OF RECEIPT. Faculty and staff are working hard on your behalf, and this is an important time as they work to finalize your fall experience.

In addition to the safety measures discussed above, faculty are continuing to creatively apply and maximize all learning modalities — in-person, online, or mixed — based on course needs and what works best for learning outcomes. For example, faculty may opt to take individual class meetings planned for pure lecture or presentation online for that day, to allow students to attend the lecture/presentation without the need to be masked or distanced, or to offer access to additional guest faculty and/or student and alumni reviewers. Such efforts will allow in-class and in-studio making days to be prioritized for IYH facilities as needed, while reducing overall numbers in the building on a week-by-week basis. Reducing overall building density allows us to offer more available off-hours working space for our students, and greater individual options for access to cohort studios, conference rooms, and the Creator and Mixed Reality Studios.

We appreciate your ongoing understanding of the fluidity of this situation, and the classic IYA adapt- and-overcome mindset you have shown throughout these challenges. As you have seen, plans can change at a moment’s notice, but our commitment to providing our students the highest academic experience remains constant. In the event we are required by university and city officials to modify our plans again, we will notify our community as soon as possible. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to the Academy’s Student Affairs team.

Be well, stay safe, and continue to Fight On!

Dean Erica Muhl