Keep Learning: Student Planning Guide

SF State students are sometimes called to demonstrate their adaptability to a number of unexpected events. Some events are merely disruptive, such as the rolling blackouts, or a nationwide outage of the Zoom web conferencing services. Some events are catastrophic, such as the social and economic disparities endured by our most vulnerable populations, compounded by the global health crisis, or the local forest fires that have displaced faculty, staff, and students, and created hazardous breathing conditions. 

As a community, we should strive to maintain patience and compassion with ourselves, and each other, as we confront known and unknown risks, and we should also strive to develop learning plans to ensure you make progress toward your academic goals. 

Please review the questions below within the context of your own learning, and consult the resources on this site for support. 

  • Continue Learning Plan: What will you do if you fall ill or if circumstances prevent you from being in the classroom?  
  • Communications Plan: How will you communicate with your instructors and classmates and receive accurate university information during the event of an emergency? 
  • Technology Plan: What will you do if you should lose access to power, equipment or software services?  
  • Emergency Assistance Plan: What will you do if you should lose access to housing, food, or other basic necessities? 
  • Health & Wellbeing Plan: What will you do if you should require mental health services or medical assistance?

Student Planning Quickguide

A disruption is a situation that will prevent a student, the instructor or the entire class from participating in 'class as usual' for a reason we could not have predicted at the beginning of the semester. Reasons for this disruption might be a personal injury or illness for the student or instructor, or unhealthy air quality from wildfire smoke. Our goal as a learning community is to do our best to keep teaching and learning with as little interruption as possible, so it's important to develop a plan to keep learning in the event of a possible class disruption.

Check Canvas and the course syllabus to find contact information, course materials and instructions for students on what to do in the event of a disruption to instruction. Think about these questions before any disruption occurs, and ask your instructor if you do not have all the information you need.

If I’m out:

  • How will I communicate my absence to my instructor and classmates?
  • How might I be able to continue participating in the course even if I'm absent?
  • What are some alternative assignments I might be able to do to keep learning if I'm absent from the class? 

If the instructor is out:

  • How will the instructor notify me if they are absent? Am I regularly checking that source of information (e.g. Canvas, SF State email)?
  • How will I keep learning if an instructor is absent for a short or extended period of time. Do I know what is expected of me?
  • What are some alternative assignments the instructor might ask me to do if they are absent?

If the campus is closed: 

  • Do I know how I learn about campus closures and next steps? Have I updated my emergency information for SF State Alerts?
  • Am I prepared to change the way I engage in this course if the campus closes? Do I have access to the required resources to pivot to remote learning?  
  • In the event of power outages or lack of electronics, do I have access to low-bandwidth assignments, such as readings, to keep learning? 

How will you communicate with your instructors and classmates and receive accurate university information during the event of an emergency? 

  • Create your SFSU email account and ensure you have access to the password and your SFSU account information; learn more here: https://its.sfsu.edu/content/sfstatelogin
  • Ensure your emergency contact information is current within SF State Student Center or Gateway so you will receive emergency SF State Alerts from the university
  • Use Canvas as the hub for course communications, and be sure to check it regularly as well
  • Keep a copy of the syllabi for your classes and engage with your instructors as to their preferred communication method

What will you do if you should lose access to power, equipment or software services?

  • Create a printed version of course syllabi and contact information for your instructor and your academic department 
  • Consider alternative locations that can support your work; for example, you may not have power or Wi-Fi at home, but develop a short list of nearby locations such as your public library or coffee shop
  • Always backup your computer and important coursework data; Box.com is available to all students for data and file backup

What will you do if you should lose access to housing, food, or other basic necessities? 

What will you do if you should require mental health services or medical assistance?