The spring term is now finally and formally behind us. Looking forward to the summer semester, we have a few updates to share and resources to recommend.

Academic Integrity Attachment: We know that the online context increased the temptation to engage in plagiarism, and that many instructors found a higher volume of integrity offences in their final assignments in the spring term. Following the old adage ‘an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,’ we have created the attached supplement regarding preventative design. This is a humble offering and one which is made with due deference to your own instincts about your students and your classes. Part Dos and Don’ts, part ideas and exercises, we hope this will be of use as you prepare for the new semester.

The BFA Grad Class of 2020. Usually, the BFA Grad Show is something many of us look forward to attending. This year the show, titled Exposed, has gone virtual. It will be available on Instagram. Every day a new student and their work will go up on Instagram. The countdown to the shows show will begin this Monday, May 11th. Check out the kpufinearts Instagram feed.

Vacation Time: Christy Jahn, our esteemed Divisional Business Manager, will be taking a much-deserved two-week vacation starting on Monday. Like so many of us, Christy has been putting in some unusually taxing hours in recent weeks, so we wish her a restful and restorative holiday! In her absence, please continue to send financial documents and questions to arts.funding@kpu.ca, and please direct all non-financial inquiries to arts@kpu.ca. Our team will work together to support each of you. 

Foggy Thinking and Fatigue:  In our discussion with Chairs and faculty members over this past interval, we have been hearing a lot about the fatigue of video conferencing, and about a foggy-headed feeling more generally.  You may find this article —  “The ‘Allostatic Load’ is the Psychological Reason for our Pandemic Brain Fog” —  useful in its reflections on the physiological impact of the ongoing stress and anxiety caused by the pandemic.  Being alone and isolated steals us of that sense of comfort, routine, and security we so depend upon in our regular day-to-day interactions.  The author’s closing words of advice – to stay active and practice self-care – do strike a chord.  In the hope that all of us may find our way through this mental fog and fatigue, we hope that this weekend’s summer-like forecast will afford some time to enjoy the outdoors and to be kind to yourselves.

Province-wide Resources:  BC Campus and BCCAT have distributed some pandemic-related resources that we have attached to this email in case these are helpful.  The BC Campus document contains a number of links to videos about online teaching. 

The interval between terms provides an important opportunity for pause, for reflection and stocking-taking regarding the term that hast just passed, and for regrouping in anticipation of the term ahead. It also affords us all a chance to reset or resume vital self-care rites and rituals that may have been put off with the final push to get grades in. Whether it be morning walks, gardening, socializing with family, reading a new novel, or taking some much-needed vacation days, we hope you have been able to find time for yourself and to get back in touch with you.

Warm regards,

Diane, Greg, Shelley, and Wade