Frequently Asked Questions

All IT sections that were scheduled to meet in person will continue to meet in person. The only change is the meeting room. Meeting rooms will be virtual using Cisco WebEx conferencing tool instead of a physical room. 

Tuition information is assessed by the University not the School. You can find information about the Fall semester, financial aid, grants, and other financial information at https://www.uc.edu/publichealth.html or by contacting your financial aid advisor. If you have questions regarding financial aid or billing, you can email onestop@uc.edu or call 513-556-1000. 

Information about federal and local resources for acquiring internet and computer resources can be available at https://www.uc.edu/publichealth.html or by contacting your financial aid advisor. In addition, we are working to facilitate individualized study space on campus for those who would like to come to campus to study, connect to their classes, or do their work.

We use Cisco WebEx for virtual rooms and all classes will have the ability to meet with faculty members on the virtual room. In online sections, faculty will hold regular office hours on their virtual room or by appointment. In remote sections, there will be scheduled class meeting times where the faculty and students will meet in the virtual room. In addition, faculty will hold regular office hours or by appointment.

There is information on the College recommendation for laptops available at https://ucprod.service-now.com/cech?id=kb_article&sys_id=d75d4b43dbb8585471c3ffcabf9619f6 . We recommend the highest memory, processor, graphics card, desk speed, and desk speed that your budget can afford in that order.

The SoIT has been delivering online courses for more than a decade. We follow asynchronous format for online instruction. Students still receive the same number of hours of instructions from the faculty member except that the delivery of the instruction by the faculty is done at a different time than when the student is receiving it. Faculty members use videos, articles, presentations, and discussion board to facilitate asynchronous communication for the classes. However, faculty members regularly offer office hours or on demand to meet in-person with the students (via Cisco WebEx conferencing tool). This Fall, sections that were scheduled online will continue to be delivered via this asynchronous format. However, sections that were scheduled on campus will be delivered remotely in the same mode as if it was on campus. The only difference is that the meeting will be conducted virtually on WebEx instead of a specific meeting room.

For the School of Information Technology, all required courses will be available remotely for the Fall semester. Our understanding is that students will still be eligible to obtain housing, meal plans, and parking, if they so desire. We are working with the facilities to set up individualized study areas on campus for students who wish to work from campus and connect to their courses on campus. However, if you prefer not to commute occasionally and use the campus as an individualized work space, that will work as well. The University is offering a “Start Where You Are” option that will completely release first-year students from the housing requirement for those that don’t wish to live on campus. Please refer to the University announcements regarding housing, meal plan, and parking as these are outside the control of the SoIT. The most up to date information about housing can be found at: https://www.uc.edu/campus-life/housing/apply.html 

The SoIT faculty and staff assessed the needs of the IT courses, the social distancing requirements, the requirement to disinfect work areas after each use, the requirement to wear masks at all the time, and the serious impact of the Coronavirus on the wellbeing and lives of people. At the same time, we assessed the experience in the later part of the Spring semester and the Summer semester as well as the SoIT capability and readiness to deliver instructions in various format. Based on this, the SoIT faculty and staff determined that all IT courses can be delivered with the same level of content rigor and the same level of students’ support using the remote format. We are hoping that this situation be temporary only for the Fall semester.  

The SoIT has been offering online courses for over a decade, has offered an online version of the MSIT program since its inception in Fall 2014, and has offered an online version of the BSIT program since Fall 2017. The SoIT is ranked #10 in the nation in the Best Online Master’s of Science in Information Technology by 2020 US News & World Report. All full time and part time faculty have received a four-weeks training on delivering online instructions. The SoIT Faculty adopted guidelines for teaching principles in 2016 and for course content in Spring 2019 and our team of instructional designers have been working on implementing these principles and auditing the courses. In addition, all faculty participate in an annual retreat to review expectations. Furthermore, the SoIT enjoys strong communication channels among its students, advisors, staff, faculty, and administration. Often times, the School Director responds to feedback from students in the middle of the semester and work closely with the faculty member to make any needed adjustments. In preparation for the Fall semester, we are adding several webinars for faculty members to exchange ideas and share experiences.  

The remote classes will include regularly scheduled meeting times where instructor and students will meet and conduct courses with all the components of on campus instructions except that they will meet via virtual room instead of on campus room. 

At any time, students can reach out to the School Director at Hazem.Said@uc.edu or to their academic advisor (https://cech.uc.edu/schools/it/people/advisors.html ) if the there is an issue with the class.  

Yes, please contact your admission representative to defer your admission to a future term. If any help is needed, please contact the School Director, Dr. Hazem Said at Hazem.Said@uc.edu. 

The best point of contact for this would be Pathways Advising (https://www.uc.edu/pathways.html).  It is important to keep in mind that while other programs may have in-person courses at this time, that is subject to change and many programs at UC will be transitioning to remote and online learning for fall. 

The SoIT schedule for Fall includes several section of each of most of our courses and in particular, first and second year courses. These sections are offered at various dates and times and some are online. The sections that were scheduled on campus at a specific day and time will remain intact. The only difference is that meetings will take place via virtual room on WebEx instead of a room on campus. However, with the individualized study areas, students can be on campus and connect to their virtual class. With this approach, we are prepared for all our students to have a rigorous, safe, and supported learning experience and are excited to welcome them in the Fall. Additionally, all first year students will be enrolled in a Learning Community.  Because of this, they will have most/all of their classes with the same group of 15-30 students. It is our hope that this will help to foster community among those students.

The SoIT sections that are scheduled online will continue to be online in an asynchronous mode with no required meeting times. The SoIT sections that are scheduled on campus will continue to meet at the same scheduled time, which is US Eastern time.  

We recommend you visit the UC International office for this: https://www.uc.edu/international/services.html 

We understand that you have many questions about how UC's method of instruction affects your current F-1 status. Since the middle of spring semester and through summer semester, UC has been completely remote for instruction as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has temporarily relaxed many rules for F-1 students due to the pandemic, including rules about online courses, remote work, and the length of time students can remain outside the U.S. The DHS has not announced if these same relaxed rules will continue into fall semester and we are waiting for clarification from DHS.  Be assured we will communicate with all international students as soon as we know final details about UC's method of instruction and what DHS will allow. We will continue to post additional details at https://www.uc.edu/publichealth/faq/international.html as changes are made.

The cost of online and remote classes are the same, but you are more than welcome to swap into an asynchronous online section of either/both of these courses if that works better for you.

Tuition through Blue Ash is cheaper, but only if you are actually enrolled in a UCBA program. As a Bachelor of Science in Information Technology student, your full-time tuition will be at the Uptown Campus rate. If you wanted to take courses through UCBA and get their tuition rate, you would have to change your major to an Associate’s degree program there. 

All sections of PD1010 will move online, and it looks like the section of COMM1076 you are enrolled in is online as well (remember that you can view your schedule and the format of your courses in Catalyst under My Academics - Classes and Schedule-  View My Schedule). We cannot say whether all COMM1076 and ENGL2089 sections will be online/remote as that decision will be made by the College of Arts & Sciences, but there is a strong possibility that they will not offer any in person classes this fall either. Reserved seats cannot be opened up at this point, but any unused learning community seats will be released in mid to late-July, so you could change sections then. Hopefully by that time it is clear if Arts & Sciences classes will be in person or remote. 

COMM1076, PD1010, and ENGL2089 are all core courses in the BSIT curriculum and are required for our ABET accreditation.

All programs at UC are revisiting their fall course offerings. These decisions are made individually by each college and program, however, and we understand these decisions will be announced in the coming weeks.

One of the benefits of staying in remote classes is that you would still have structured meetings and would get to know your classmates and instructors better. Outside of class, there are several clubs within the SoIT, such as Women in Technology (WiT) and IT Student Association (ITSA), both of which can be found on CampusLink. For academic support, we also have the IT Learning Center, which is still offering virtual services. 

You will still be able to contact all of your instructors, your co-op advisor, and academic advisors readily, whether via email or by requesting a meeting through WebEx or Microsoft Teams. The advisors will not be able to offer on campus appointments for the foreseeable future as it is not possibly to socially distance in the offices; Faculty members are available virtually as well through WebEx or Microsoft Teams. The college is trying to conduct as much as possible virtually for the health and safety of students, faculty, and staff. 

I would recommend checking out LinkedIn Learning, which you can access through Canopy. There are various trainings on there, so you can start to familiarize yourself with Java, routing and switching, HTML, CSS, and other concepts that you will be studying over the next year.

For the Fall semester, all IT courses that were scheduled online will continue to be scheduled online with the same asynchronous instructions as before. All SoIT courses that were scheduled to meet on campus will continue at the same day and time with the same level of instruction with the only difference is that it will now meet in a virtual room using Cisco WebEx instead of a physical room on campus. We do understand the challenges that this will provide, and we will be doing our best to ensure the successful experience of our students. We are hoping to share some strategies in the townhall regarding ensuring successful learning experiences.

We share your concerns as well and we fully understand. The deadly Coronavirus pandemic changed how our society works. We believe that the remote instruction option, where classes are conducted exactly the same with the exception that it is meeting in a virtual room instead of a physical room, will retain the community environment and a successful learning environment while being in a safe a trusted environment for all. Furthermore, we are working to create individualized study areas on campus that will offer everyone the opportunity to come to campus to connect to the classes and work with their peers and faculty virtually. 

We refer you to the One Stop Student Services Center: https://onestop.uc.edu/info/new-students.html for information on the student badge. 

During orientation, you will work with your advisor to register for Fall classes. The IT courses will be offered remotely and most or all of the non-IT courses will be remote as well. If your full schedule is remote, you will have the flexibility to either move to Cincinnati or stay where you for the Fall semester to save room and board costs. We will work with you and support your plan as much as we can. We are working to create individualized study areas on campus so students can come to campus and be able to work safely while connecting with their classmates and faculty on virtual rooms, if they prefer.

Students in the senior design class have already started communication with the faculty through the preparation course. If you plan to be in senior design this year, and are not enrolled in the senior design prep course, please reach out to your advisor as soon as possible. All the activities of senior design will continue to take place as normal with the only exception that in person meetings for the Fall will now take place in a virtual room instead of a specific room on campus. In Spring 2020, the SoIT was able to successfully hold the IT Expo (https://itexpo20.live) in a virtual environment and all in class presentations took place as scheduled.

Information about how University Housing is preparing for the Fall semester due to the Covid-19 pandemic can be found here: https://www.uc.edu/publichealth/return-to-campus/fall-semester-planning.html . Here is a copy of what is listed on that site in regards to Fall 2020 housing (copied on June 25, 2020): 

All housing, dining and recreational facilities have undergone a deep cleaning. Additionally, our continuing cleaning procedures have been expanded and will remain in effect throughout the semester. 

Dining procedures have been adjusted to accommodate socially distant dine-in activities as well as expanded take-out options. 

All students, with a completed housing application, who want to live within the University Housing portfolio can be accommodated; however, for our students and their families, we understand that some have concerns about living away from home during these unprecedented times and require flexibility. 

We will work with you to find the best solution to fit your needs for a successful living and learning experience. Options are being developed that range from modified assignments up to relaxing the housing requirement (https://www.uc.edu/campus-life/housing/resources/policies.html) for first-year students. If you have any concerns, we encourage you to reach out to the University Housing team (https://www.uc.edu/campus-life/housing/apply.html) prior to July 15. Contact options are email at uchousing@uc.edu or phone at 513-556-6461. 

Final details on the assignment process will be available late June, with subsequent room-selection occurring in July. Please monitor the University Housing website and check your UC issued email for updates. 

Please note that for anyone who has not yet completed a UC Housing application, the university is moving to a wait list for future housing applicants. Those on the wait list will be offered UC Housing accommodations if rooms become available. 

The SoIT does not control this decision. Information on University plan will be made available to students through the registrar office. Check here https://www.uc.edu/about/registrar/grades-and-transcripts/grade-changes/pass-option.html for information on the Pass/Fail option for Summer. We expect the registrar website to update once a decision regarding Fall is made by the University.  

We understand the challenges with taking classes online. However, we are only moving on campus courses to a virtual room instead of an on-campus room. We are not switching the program or the course to online. By maintaining the regular meetings between students and faculty with the ability to see and talk to each other, we believe we can achieve most, if not all, of the on campus experience. The SoIT Fall schedule includes sections that are online, delivered through the traditional asynchronous delivery, and remote sections that follow the same schedule as the on campus course except that it meets in a virtual room. On Catalyst, these sections will have a set meeting date and time attached to it. Unfortunately, Catalyst is listing both sections as Online for Fall instead of using the Remote option as it did for Spring and Summer. Refer to the answer to question 9.d. for details on the SoIT readiness and experience for online delivery as well as the emergency remote instruction for Fall. In addition, we launching a series of monthly conversations among faculty members to promote excellence in teaching. Furthermore, we are designing activities to prepare and train students for success in this emergency remote instruction mode. We do recognize, however, that all these steps may not still meet students’ expectations all the time. Please reach out to the academic advisor, the School’s Leadership or the School Director with your suggestions, concerns, or issues regarding your experience in SoIT classes.  

Please note that the non-IT courses are delivered by academic units outside the SoIT. However, if there is anything we do to communicate your concerns or suggestions to our colleagues in these units, do not hesitate to let the academic advisor or  our team know.  

The University has been open and never closed during Covid-19. All academic advisors are available for appointments with students to plan for fall. To schedule a virtual appointment with your advisor, please log in to Starfish (found at canopy.uc.edu).  If you need assistance with scheduling an appointment, please see this document (https://www.uc.edu/content/dam/uc/pathways/Starfish/Guides/Starfish%20Scheduling%20Guide.pdf ).

Thank you for reaching out.  I completely understand all of the feelings that you are having.  I know that this is all so difficult.  We were disappointed at the way Catalyst is listing synchronous courses as online courses as it conveys that there will be no direct instruction. This is not the case here. All the SoIT courses that were scheduled on campus will continue to meet at the same day and time and the instruction will follow the same mode and format with the only difference is that the class will meet in a virtual room using WebEx instead of a specific room on campus. 

There are a couple of different things that I want to make sure you are aware of:

• The classes that were going to be in-person are now being offered as remote.  There will be set meeting times for these classes, so students will be able to see their classmates and their professors.

• There is no doubt that the spring semester was a little crazy.  Professors were forced at a moment’s notice to shift from in-person to online, and that was a challenge.  Professors have the time now to really prepare for courses to be online and make sure that the quality is great.

• The School of IT does offer an entirely online program, so they are ahead of many other schools in that classes have already been built online, and they have feedback from prior semesters and are continuously improving. 

• Dr. Hazem Said Hazem.Said@uc.edu is the director of the School of IT.  He is the one who sent out the email regarding the fall semester plans and would be your best point of contact regarding this issue.  With that said, there is a town hall on 6/29 at 5:00 PM.  You are welcome to attend that to gather more information.  If you would like to register, you can do so here.

The NEXT Apprenticeship Program will provide any student who does not have appropriate technology to complete their course work with laptop computers. Students will be able to check out these computers and utilize them during this time of need. Please know that this is open to ALL students and you do not need to be an IT or Tech major to take advantage of this program. 

To check out these computers, students must sign up for the NEXT Apprenticeship Program.

Please contact Aaron Burdette (aaron.burdette@uc.edu) with any questions.

We are working with the campus facility to create individual study and work areas for all students who wish to come on campus to do their work. We are still finalizing these details and will make it available as soon as possible. All faculty will be available on their WebEx rooms for scheduled meetings and office hours. 

We understand that the Coronavirus have impacted all parts of our society. International students can start the program where they are and arrive on campus when ready. Another option is to defer admission to a following semester or year. Assistantships will need to be deferred.

Yes, there university housing is available. We refer you to: https://www.uc.edu/publichealth/return-to-campus/fall-semester-planning.html . Here is a copy of what is listed on that site in regards to Fall 2020 housing (copied on June 25, 2020):

All housing, dining and recreational facilities have undergone a deep cleaning. Additionally, our continuing cleaning procedures have been expanded and will remain in effect throughout the semester.

Dining procedures have been adjusted to accommodate socially distant dine-in activities as well as expanded take-out options.

All students, with a completed housing application, who want to live within the University Housing portfolio can be accommodated; however, for our students and their families, we understand that some have concerns about living away from home during these unprecedented times and require flexibility. 

We will work with you to find the best solution to fit your needs for a successful living and learning experience. Options are being developed that range from modified assignments up to relaxing the housing requirement (https://www.uc.edu/campus-life/housing/resources/policies.html) for first-year students. If you have any concerns, we encourage you to reach out to the University Housing team (https://www.uc.edu/campus-life/housing/apply.html) prior to July 15. Contact options are email at uchousing@uc.edu or phone at 513-556-6461.

Final details on the assignment process will be available late June, with subsequent room-selection occurring in July. Please monitor the University Housing website and check your UC issued email for updates.

Please note that for anyone who has not yet completed a UC Housing application, the university is moving to a wait list for future housing applicants. Those on the wait list will be offered UC Housing accommodations if rooms become available.

We believe students organizations will continue to meet. However, this will depend on each organization and the interest of students. Campus housing will be available (see questions on campus housing and review https://www.uc.edu/publichealth/return-to-campus/fall-semester-planning.html for more information. Living on campus is an option and will work well if this is what is best for you. The learning communities will continue to meet virtually. Tuition information is assessed by the University not the School. You can find information about the Fall semester, financial aid, grants, and other financial information at https://www.uc.edu/publichealth.html or by contacting your financial aid advisor. If you have questions regarding financial aid or billing, you can email onestop@uc.edu or call 513-556-1000. 

The Fall semester will start on August 24, 2020 and will end on December 2, 2020. Final exams will take place on December 3, 4, 7, and 8. Please refer to the university announcement at: https://www.uc.edu/publichealth/return-to-campus/fall-semester-planning.html 

The operating system of the laptop does not matter.

The IT learning community gives first year students the opportunity to be with the same group of IT students in all of their IT courses. The SoIT did not change its fall schedule, we just moved it to a virtual room. All planned activities for the learning community will continue to take place.

The Information Technology Solutions Center (ITSC) and other research labs at the SoIT will continue to offer opportunities for students as normal. All our contracts and grants have continued to operate remotely. Students are encouraged to reach out to faculty or the ITSC early due to the limited number of opportunities. 

The instructors will hold office hours mostly virtually using Cisco WebEx or Microsoft Teams. The learning center will continue to operate in the Fall and the teaching assistants will be available in virtual rooms as well.

While there is no deadline to notify the university if you would like to defer your admission, we recommend that you do so as soon as possible. If you decide to defer your admission, make sure to drop any classes before the start of the semester to avoid being charged the tuition fees. 

Tuition information is assessed by the University not the School. You can find information about the Fall semester, financial aid, grants, and other financial information at https://www.uc.edu/publichealth.html or by contacting your financial aid advisor. If you have questions regarding financial aid or billing, you can email onestop@uc.edu or call 513-556-1000.

The campus usually has part-time working opportunities for students. We encourage the students to check with the various units or with the Career Education division at https://www.uc.edu/campus-life/careereducation/about.html. Due to COVID-19, it is expected that some units may not open the full hours and that may impact the amount of work hours available to students. Students in the SoIT are encouraged to focus on practicing their skills and landing co-op opportunities. 

The School of Information Technology will offer all its courses for the Fall either online or through the synchronous remote learning. This format will enable students to start where they are and join the campus when ready. International students can start take the program from their home country and come to campus once they are able to get their visa. Another option is to defer admission to a future semester. Check the International students section on the University Return to Campus Guide at: https://www.uc.edu/publichealth/return-to-campus/guide/teaching-and-learning.html and the International Students FAQ: https://www.uc.edu/publichealth/faq/international.html 

All of us in the SoIT understand the impact of this pandemic and feel your pain. We are still waiting on more guidance and will communicate with you as more information becomes available. However, in the meantime, please note:

While the SoIT schedule for the Fall semester will remain remote for all students, we will make adjustments to ensure international students’ schedules are compliant with the F1 status requirements. More information will be shared as we finalize it. 

Students who are accepted to start in the Fall semester but are unable to join due to the coronavirus pandemic have two options:

• Defer admission to a later semester. 

• Start where you are and join when ready. Courses are offered asynchronous and synchronous in the Fall allowing students to enroll from any location. All synchronous courses are offered on US Eastern Time. This option could have implications for OPT eligibility- please consult with a UC International advisor to plan your academic program.