Remote Programs FAQ

Online courses have a mixture of synchronous (meaning everyone does the same activity at the same time) and asynchronous (meaning students do activities on their own schedule, by a certain due date) activities. Synchronous activities will feel much like the traditional classroom activities you are used to -- lectures (although some of these may be pre-recorded, so you can watch them whenever you like), discussions, hands-on projects -- with the only difference being that you will engage with your instructor and fellow students online, via Zoom. Asynchronous activities will involve the sorts of things you might have done as homework, such as problem sets, taking notes on readings, and writing papers, but will also include activities that take advantage of online course delivery such as contributing your thoughts to discussion boards or class blogs, making videos or curating virtual exhibits, and performing simulated experiments on virtual subjects or materials. Whatever it is you are doing from day to day, your instructor and TA will work to ensure that students remain engaged with the subject matter and with each other throughout the course.

Regular class attendance, timely completion of work, and participation are required. Failure to meet these standards may result in probation or dismissal. Students are required to take all classes for a quality letter grade and missing more than a day will have a significant impact on your grade for the class. Each Summer Session course is equivalent to 9 weeks of undergraduate coursework. Because Summer courses are condensed, 1-2 days of class is equivalent to an entire week of instruction during the regular academic year, so attendance and timely completion of work is critical. Summer Session courses and grades are recorded on a UChicago transcript; college applications, including the Common App, will require you to submit this transcript when you apply to colleges.

Because Summer Session courses are equivalent to courses that last nine weeks during the rest of the academic year, the courses are intensive and rigorous. Students in Pre-College Connect and Summer Online should expect to be in synchronous class for two hours each day, Monday – Friday for 5 weeks. Pre-College Summer Language Institute and Summer College courses vary in the length of time and required synchronous sessions. All programs will have daily homework assignments, such as reading or problem sets, as well as more long-term assignments such as research projects, papers to write, or exams to study for. 

Please consult the days and times listed under the descriptions of your courses, as your daily schedule will depend on your selected classes. Some courses will have course considerations such as "reading intensive," "writing intensive," "discussion intensive," "math intensive," and "coding intensive" to help you understand the nature of the work or how the work will be focused in class.

As soon as you have accepted your admission to Summer Session, send an email to Disability Services at disabilities@uchicago.edu. They will work with you to determine what accommodations you are eligible for, and coordinate the support you need. The kind of accommodations you need for on-site courses and online courses might differ, and the kind of accommodations that universities and K-12 schools provide may differ as well, so you will want to request a review by Disability Services as far in advance of the start of your course as possible.

You’ll find the same traits that help you succeed in traditional, face-to-face classes will stand you in good stead online: be organized, disciplined, and always up for a challenge. Summer Session staff will make available a number of detailed resources to help guide students to success as you make the transition to learning remotely at UChicago this summer. Starting in early June, you will have access to training in the use of Zoom and Canvas. Once classes start, you can attend virtual workshops on topics such as how to use library resources online, optimal study skills for college, and tackling undergraduate-level reading and writing assignments. Summer Session staff and Teaching Assistants will provide additional support and reach out to students who may need additional assistance with managing their time, meeting academic expectations, or mastering course content.  

The University has also launched the Learning Remotely site, which we highly suggest that you take some time to review before classes begin. In particular, the Getting Started page is very useful and contains information like what internet connection speed you’ll need to be able to participate in online classes and how to improve your internet connection. Spending time on this website before your class begins will help you start on the right foot in your class.

Participation will be a part of your grade in every remotely taught course, and will be determined by factors such as your contributions to online discussion boards, projects, and other activities, as well as your dedication to engaging the course material and completing your assignments. Instructors and TAs understand that students might encounter connectivity issues or other problems that prevent them from participating in a particular synchronous class session on Zoom, and would not count something beyond your control against you

Because Summer Session courses are brief and very intensive, we strongly encourage students to consider their choices very carefully before they apply. Course changes must be made before the second class meeting of a three-week course, and before the third class meeting for longer courses.

Students will only be allowed to add/drop under very special circumstances once courses have begun. All changes must be approved by the Summer Session program staff at summersession@uchicago.edu.

Very occasionally, because of a significant conflict or because an insufficient number of students have enrolled in a class, a course is cancelled. Students who are registered in a cancelled class will be contacted by Summer Session and offered the opportunity to enroll in an alternative course or program. If a student does not wish to take another course in its place, the student's deposit will be returned. A course cancellation will be announced at least two weeks prior to the start of the course.

Remote students will need access to a computer and reliable wifi while in class. 

Classes will not be held on either June 19 for Juneteenth or July 4, and University administrative offices will also be closed. Students should expect to be in class on the days surrounding the holiday unless an instructor says otherwise. 

The dining hall will remain open, and the residential staff will provide special activities for students residing on campus.

In mid-May, students can see if their course requires a textbook by searching the Bookstore’s and Seminary Co-op websites. Many courses have readings that are available entirely online via Canvas that requires a cNet ID and password. 

We will notify remote students regarding whether their course requires a textbook.

All courses open to high school students are graded (A-F), carry at least 100 units of credit, and have undergraduate-level course numbers. It’s important to note that, as opposed to many universities that structure their calendars by semesters, the University of Chicago operates on a quarter system. Each University of Chicago 100-unit course is the equivalent of 3.3 semester credit hours.

• Pre-College Connect, Summer College, Summer Online: 100 UChicago units = 5 quarter hours = 3.3 semester hours
• Pre-College Summer Language Institute: 300 UChicago units = 15 quarter hours = 10 semester hours

The Enrichment program does not carry any credit.

To order transcripts, please log in to your myUChicago to view and request a transcript from the Registrar's Office. The Summer Session Office cannot issue transcripts; only the Registrar's Office can act in this capacity.

On your my.uchicago account, you should be able to request an official transcript by following these directions:
Students should select Academics (on the top left of the page) --> Academic Records --> Request Official Transcript

If you do not have access to your CNET ID, you can request transcript through Parchment here: https://registrar.uchicago.edu/records/transcripts/ 

Students interested in transferring UChicago credit earned during Summer Session should contact the university where you would want the credit to be applied about their requirements for doing so. Transfer of credit is at the discretion of the recipient university. You will be able to request your transcript via your MyUChicago account after the summer quarter ends in late August.

Unfortunately, these courses do not count toward graduation requirements. During the summer immediately prior to matriculation, incoming students are permitted to take University of Chicago courses. These will confer College credit. Interested students should see this page for more information.

UChicago Summer Session courses will be supported by a suite of platforms.

• Canvas is the official LMS (learning management system) already in use for instructors across campus to manage individual courses. Canvas provides access to the course syllabus, links to online resources, assignments, discussion boards, and other essential teaching tools.

• Zoom (Enterprise) is the official video conferencing platform, which allows for real-time interactions among instructors, teaching assistants, and students. All instructor-led class sessions on Zoom will be recorded, so that a student who misses the session may view it later on their own schedule. Students may also use Zoom to engage with each other on assignments and group projects.

• Other online tools such as Microsoft Teams and Google’s G-Suite may be used by instructors depending on the course’s specific curricular needs, but all will be required to fulfill the privacy requirements articulated at studentprivacypledge.org.

Offices across the University have worked hard to make sure that instructors have training and support related to both the technological and pedagogical elements of translating an in-person course to an online environment. That work includes:

• The University launched a Teaching Remotely website with resources for instructors and TAs that is updated almost daily with a variety of useful resources.
• Academic Technology Services, the Center for Teaching, and individual academic divisions and departments have created online trainings for instructional staff on the use of Zoom, Canvas, Panopto; transitioning an in-person class to a remote instruction model; subject-area specific trainings on how to reach particular curricular goals effectively, such as teaching writing, running a virtual biology lab, leading online discussions, building online community, and many others. Summer Session staff have attended and contributed to many of these sessions, and will have additional workshops with instructors and TAs for Pre-College courses to address their particular pedagogical needs. 

This is not a comprehensive list, but we hope it gives you an idea of the seriousness with which we are approaching our obligation to provide students with an effective learning experience during Summer Session.

You can upload all sorts of files -- documents, videos, presentations, and more -- to Canvas to submit them, and you’ll be able to get your grades and other feedback on your work the same way. Quizzes, tests, and exams will be administered online via Canvas. Students can even upload handwritten work, such as the scratch paper where they work out math problems, to Canvas at the conclusion of a test. Your instructor and TA will guide you on how to do this, and it will be covered in the Canvas training as well.

All platforms that support Summer Session remote teaching are web- or cloud-based, and so can be accessed by anyone with a reliable internet connection. We recommend that students use the computer audio, rather than a separate call-in phone number, when joining real-time meetings. Separate call-in local numbers will be made available to individual students as needed on request.

Courses will combine synchronous and asynchronous instruction in order to maximize flexibility and accessibility of course content for students. Students are expected to attend all the synchronous classes. Some real-time sessions will be recorded so that if a student misses the session for any reason, they may watch the recording and catch up right away. Other class meetings such as discussion sections with TAs or office hours with instructors will be scheduled at times that work for students. Group projects may be assigned to students living in the same or close time zones, to help coordinate work with local schedules.

As cited in the Policy Handbook in “Community Standards”, UChicago Summer Session works to ensure that all students are supported throughout their academic experience.  If an incident occurs where a Summer Session student experiences targeting or harassment, staff will document the incident and can intervene between students in multiple ways. If the behavior continues or the situation is not immediately resolved, the incident will be referred for a disciplinary response. Staff will follow up on any report of concerning or inappropriate online interactions.

Only enrolled students are allowed to participate in class sessions. Parents are not allowed to listen in on or attend Summer Session classes, as this could disrupt the running of a class for the instructor or participants, and would violate the privacy of the students attending the course. 

To protect student privacy as well as the intellectual property rules governing course curricula, neither students nor parents are allowed to record class sessions. Students may view recordings of their classes within the course’s Canvas site as intended by the instructor, but may not download or share any recordings. 

Parents who have questions or concerns about their child’s academic experience should contact summersession@uchicago.edu. 

Parents and students will be able to participate in virtual orientation sessions, to learn more about the support that Summer Session staff provides. Look for more information by email before the start of your class.

In addition to in-class support staff and resources, Summer Session students can connect by email or Zoom with our residential student staff members who provide additional support and mentoring outside the virtual classroom.

Community Mentors are current students with a variety of backgrounds, interests and areas of study.  Each Community Mentor is ready to share resources with students to ensure that UChicago Summer Session provides the best academic and social experience possible.