As the United States continues to fight the coronavirus pandemic, every American is expected to change all aspects of their day-to-day lives and come to terms with this new normal. This holds especially true for universities and students as they wrap up on their unexpected end to the spring semester and try to plan around an unpredictable future.
For universities across the country, the future holds many uncertainties which makes planning for the fall 2020 semester a difficult task. As for college students, studying from their childhood bedroom, calling into class, and losing a sense of community has caused a tremendous amount of stress to be put on their shoulders.
So, the question of what the future holds for universities and their students continues to loom in the midst of this global pandemic.
In Milwaukee, some universities already have a plan regarding classes for the upcoming fall semester. Marquette University is one of them.
A letter from the university’s Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, Dr. Kimo Ah Yun, says, “undergraduate courses will begin on Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2020, and in-person instruction will conclude on Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2020. Students then will have the opportunity to move out for the semester prior to the Thanksgiving holiday. This calendar change prompts a necessary adjustment to final exams as well and requires that we administer them remotely from December 2 to 9, 2020.”
Likely Resurgence?
According to experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Mayo Clinic, there is a likely chance of a resurgence of COVID-19 come the end of fall and beginning of winter, as such, universities are advised to take this into consideration when structuring their 2020-2021 academic calendar.
Kathy Van Zeeland, director of marketing and communications at Mount Mary University, gives insight on how smaller universities may adapt to the new normal, “We can nimbly adapt our practices to the changing situation. At this time we intend to deliver our courses on campus as usual. Social distancing will be accommodated in all classrooms, student spaces and work areas.”
The stress endured by college students during this time is why some universities offered tuition or housing reimbursements, mental health counseling via Zoom, and even technologies to bring home. Such universities include Milwaukee Area Technical College. At MATC, they provided students with virtual advising and counseling visits, emergency grants, and Chromebooks to the students that need support for their education, according to MATC’s website.
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In addition to these resources, MATC recently announced that students and faculty connected to the Criminal Justice Studies program will return to MATC’s Oak Creek Campus for face-to-face instruction beginning May 18. MATC acknowledges that there are courses that require a hands-on component to the instruction for course completion which is why some students and faculty are allowed back on campus so soon.
When Online is Impossible
With some areas of study, online learning is nearly impossible as the tools and resources needed require physical interaction. Although not all universities, such as MATC, have considered the toll STEM majors and those concentrating on trade skills have taken on during this time.
Katie Felde, rising senior at University of St. Thomas, majors in chemistry and discusses how hard the online transition has been on her studies, specifically. “As a student in chemistry, I feel like the university hasn’t been willing to put in any effort to help with how difficult it’s been to transfer our courses online. It has really felt like the university just left it to our professors to figure out how to do labs online which is frustrating. I’m supposed to take really difficult courses that rely on labs to explain material, and anything online really makes it harder.”
Some universities are still in the process of deciding what the best course of action is. These universities include Alverno, Cardinal Stritch, and University of Wisconsin Milwaukee.
Senior Director of Media Relations and Advancement Communications, Kathleen Hohl, says that Cardinal Stritch “continues to closely monitor and assess local, state and national developments and plan for a number of scenarios.”
UW-Milwaukee is also preparing for any and all scenarios concerning fall semester. “Because the situation is so uncertain, we will be prepared if we need to move to online classes. Ultimately, the format of classes will be determined by public health guidance at the time,” Michelle L. Johnson, senior director of integrated marketing and communications, says.
Johnson then adds, “I can tell you that there are multiple planning teams working on these topics, including the physical set up of classes, cleaning protocols and other health and safety precautions that need to be taken. We will be sharing information with our employees and students—and the public—as decisions are made.”
Recent graduate of UW-Milwaukee, Valerie Perkins, shares that her professors have been good about checking on their students’ mental health and overall wellbeing. “They [UW-Milwaukee] were a little slow getting information out at first, but mental health resources are still available and they kept dorms as well as food banks open for people who needed it.”
As universities and colleges continue to mull over the details of their academic calendars, students are left to reflect on their abrupt end to this spring semester and anticipate what will happen next with their education.
“Online learning has worsened my academic life for various reasons. It lacks the authenticity of being in person and asking questions to the instructor when needed,” Joseph Markey, rising senior at University of Wisconsin Lacrosse, expresses when asked about how the online transition went for him.
Economically Vulnerable
Max Donovan, rising senior at University of Wisconsin—Madison, similarly says that he did not learn or gain nearly as much from online learning as he would have in face-to-face classes. He adds, “One thing I can say is that UW cannot expect us to commit to tuition or housing payments prior to releasing a comprehensive plan.”
Universities and colleges across the country, similar to Milwaukee and UW schools, are exploring how socially distanced classes, isolation protocols, and hybrid in-person and online classes may work for the fall semester, but none have detailed what they expect students to pay for this.
“Young people are a highly vulnerable population economically and I think embarking on any new endeavors is a scary prospect right now,” says Donovan.
Between costly tuition, losing quality education, and entering an unstable job market, college students are unable to ease any kind of anxiety.
“The hardest part is I’m always so worried about something—family, staying safe, the future—that it's so hard to focus on school, which then makes you worry about school. It's just a vicious cycle and means that I’m just always worrying,” says Felde.
