The recent article, ‘Meet Covid-19’s Freshman Class’ in The Chronicle of Higher Education sparked a lot of thoughts for me. Some of my freshman are on campus while others were asked to or chose to stay home this semester. No matter where they spent their fall semester, I heard many of them speak of their struggles. The biggest differences in their experiences stemmed from how the colleges handled the situation.
Those freshmen who were on campus with fully online classes often spoke of the struggle to make friends. They felt very homesick stuck in their dorm rooms with extremely limited social interaction. Some also mentioned that as the school did not provide much in terms of social activity, they felt like they needed to spend more money to go off campus and do things. Many colleges could have significantly improved the support and activities provided to these students. While they of course need to take precautionary measures, additional outdoor activities such as campus walks and small class meetings could have been implemented. A great example is the ‘Hike 4 Humanity,’ a hike organized by Coach Eric Taylor at Saint Francis University in Pennsylvania. He organized a student and faculty hike to promote unity on campus. It was a great success and they planned additional hikes throughout the semester. Small initiatives such as these could really make a big difference for those involved, especially when they are feeling disconnected from their peers.
Students who were on campus and able to attend at least a few classes in-person were able to truly meet some of their peers and professors and had more engagement in the classroom. These students were on campuses which implemented rotating schedules so students could have in-person classes some weeks and online the others. Of course, this would be more difficult at the larger colleges with more students/more students per class, but could this be implemented safely at more schools? What are some alternatives?
Students noted a lack of participation in online classes, some even mentioning they actually felt like an outcast if they spoke during class. While we are all familiar with the Zoom burnout occurring right now, there must be ways to improve this. Is there something those professors could have done to make the classes more engaging and encourage participation? Were the students somehow ‘introduced’ to one another at any point?
The students who were at home were not able to meet anyone from their freshman class or experience even a small part of campus life. Many wondered if they should have taken much cheaper classes at a local community college instead. They, however, were at least able to be with family and did not struggle from homesickness. I am now wondering what many colleges offered as ‘orientation’ and ways to ‘meet’ and connect with peers and faculty to those students at home. Will there be a new, second orientation for all students when they are able to truly be on campus together safely?
The financial aspect of paying for college when classes are primarily online and students are not able to enjoy campus is an issue pretty much everyone questioned. What some did not take into consideration was how lower income students or students whose family incomes were significantly impacted this year were able to handle the finances of college this semester. I had several students whose campus jobs were eliminated or the hours were cut which decreased the amount of Work Study funds they earned. Some of them really counted on that money and are now struggling to make ends meet. Food insecurity on campuses has been another major problem, particularly during this time. This is yet another issue many colleges were not prepared for, but a few somewhat successfully addressed. How can we help these students more?
There was certainly no easy choice this semester with regards to staying home or moving to campus. I feel for all of the students who missed out on a true freshman year in particular. Here's to hoping 2021 is much better and that students feel supported and better connected to their chosen school. There were a lot of lessons learned through trial and error this semester and we can hope the colleges have plans for improvement of the services and support they offer to students during this turbulent time and beyond. We have all learned something, haven’t we?
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A great success story of college during covid from my alma mater, Bucknell University
https://www.bucknell.edu/news/successful-semester-campus
What Counts as Success in a COVID Semester?
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2020/11/02/what-counts-success-when-it-comes-containing-covid