When the pandemic hit during spring semester 2020, institutions from across the nation moved swiftly to prioritize the health and safety of all faculty, staff, and students on campus. In person sessions were converted to remote, and then there was the housing situation. Many students living on campus had to do emergency move outs, and those that were off campus over spring break were discouraged to come back to the residence halls. Things changed fast. What students had come to expect for their spring semester was no longer there, only COVID-19.
Spring semester 2020 feels like a lifetime ago with how fast paced it was and how quickly people had to adapt to the outbreak. With summer half way through its course, students are now looking towards fall semester 2020 and what their campus is doing in regards to the pandemic. Right now, we’re seeing two different levels of execution. One is opening up campus with guidelines and restrictions such as wearing masks, reducing class room size, one way lane hallways, etc. The other is sticking to remote online classes for the foreseeable future.
The pros to opening up campus? You receive that learning experience that you simply cannot have remotely. Secondly, it helps those that don’t have the resources or access to the internet for remote learning. The biggest and most obvious con is the immense risk of spreading COVID-19, no matter how great the health guidelines are.
The pros for remote learning, besides the fact you can learn from home, is reducing the number of COVID-19 cases. The con is not having that same college experience as you would have being on campus. Plus, remote education is a more restricted learning experience than having it in person. However, institutions are improving their online courses by tailoring their lectures to be more suited for the web.
Your best bet is to follow up with your school to see what they have planned for fall semester 2020. Stay healthy and safe everybody, and enjoy your summer break.
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