College parents...fall semester?

[mom2rtk]

My son's classes for fall were just changed to all online. I'm fine with it, as is he. These kids have the whole rest of their lives ahead of them. A semester or a year of online classes and limited interaction is not the end of the world.

In many cases, yes. But this isn't just about the "college experience". It's about staying on track with the material so they don't get derailed on the path of courses needed for their majors. Online works better for some classes than others. For her upper level STEM classes, DD really would prefer they be onsite. It's hard enough to connect with professors when you're there in person. Online for some of these classes just doesn't work out well.

 

[AustinTink]

In many cases, yes. But this isn't just about the "college experience". It's about staying on track with the material so they don't get derailed on the path of courses needed for their majors. Online works better for some classes than others. For her upper level STEM classes, DD really would prefer they be onsite. It's hard enough to connect with professors when you're there in person. Online for some of these classes just doesn't work out well.

Yes, I could see it being tough for STEM classes. It's pretty hard for my son's hands-on film production classes also, but there really isn't a better option right now. I feel for all the kids who are living this weird altered reality.

 

[Mrs. Ciz]

I agree, but for the Class of 2020 ("The Class With A Vision!") it's just adding insult to injury. They lost almost everything important about their senior year in high school, and now they're going to have a crap first year in college.

The kids seem to take it more in stride that the parents, but they have certainly been beaten up this year and there may be more coming.

Yep, and all the Class of 2021 Seniors are going to have their WHOLE senior year negatively impacted, not just the last quarter. My daughter will be a Senior in college, and it's just now sinking in what her last year will be like. It stinks any way you look at it. I am a teacher. I feel awful for all the students and all the teachers and all the parents impacted by this.

 

[olwyngdh]

My daughter will be a Freshman at University of Evansville in the fall. They are going back about 10 days early and will finish finals before Thanksgiving. Fall break is canceled. They were planning on shutting down one of the dorms this fall for renovation but are keeping it open so they can use less rooms on each floor resulting in less people sharing a bathroom. Dining hall is encouraging take out (which they allowed anyhow) and getting rid of all self-serve stations. Classes will be set up for social distancing and it is up to the prof how much is in person and how much is on line. My daughter's classes will translate to online pretty easy if she has to go that way (Greek 1, Latin 1, Freshman Seminar, Intro for Archaeology Majors, Greek Archeology) but except for Freshman seminar will probably all be easy enough to hold in person because of size--there are only 13 freshman in her major. She will be getting her room assignment in July. They are having everyone sign up for 3 hour blocks to move into the dorms. Face masks are required outside their dorm rooms, and every student will be provided with one when they sign in. There will be extensive intensive cleaning of all public spaces. Yeah, it isn't going to be the normal 1st semester of college, but at least she is going to have one.

 

[mom2rtk]

Yep, and all the Class of 2021 Seniors are going to have their WHOLE senior year negatively impacted, not just the last quarter. My daughter will be a Senior in college, and it's just now sinking in what her last year will be like. It stinks any way you look at it. I am a teacher. I feel awful for all the students and all the teachers and all the parents impacted by this.

Early in this mess I kept talking about how sad I was for this year's seniors. How many of life's milestones they were missing out on. Then a few weeks ago it started dawning on me that this year's seniors might miss out on an entire year of milestones. It's just so hard to even wrap my brain around all of it. All of what this year's seniors missed, plus fall sports, plus homecoming, plus fall plays plus Court Warming. Plus not even a single day or normalcy the entire year. It's just so sad.

 

[Southernmiss]

Early in this mess I kept talking about how sad I was for this year's seniors. How many of life's milestones they were missing out on. Then a few weeks ago it started dawning on me that this year's seniors might miss out on an entire year of milestones. It's just so hard to even wrap my brain around all of it. All of what this year's seniors missed, plus fall sports, plus homecoming, plus fall plays plus Court Warming. Plus even a single day or normalcy the entire year. It's just so sad.

It is sad to think about.

Our house is functioning as normal. Our college and public schools haven't announced fall plans , yet.

Though local Catholic schools have announced plans as of now for in person learning.

So right now we are planning a normal year.

 

[luvsvacation]

I have a double whammy...my daughter just graduated this year and my son will be a senior this upcoming year! At first I was sad for her missing prom, graduation, and the entire last quarter of school. Now I’m really sad for him possibly missing his entire senior year! I never expected this to still be going on and possibly/probably affect school this upcoming fall! My daughter is going away to college, they’ve said dorms will be open. I’m really hoping school will be in person and normal(ish) for both of them but I’m feeling that is becoming less and less likely.

 

[Sarah_Rose]

I really feel for high school seniors/incoming university students right now. I teach at a major university and have a first year foundation course in the fall term. We’re going to be 100% online, dorms closed, professors don’t even know if we’ll be able to access our offices in the fall. We’ve been told to drop course content down to 30% of what you’d normally teach and just focus on getting first year students integrated into a community of some kind. Be present and responsive as an instructor and focus on well-being... even if they learn very little of the course’s actual content. It breaks my heart that THIS will be these kids’ introduction to university life. It sucks.

 

[abdmom]

My family will be attending 3 different colleges in the fall. The Canadian school is going to be mostly online.

The US state school will be in person, with no small breaks, but a super long winter break - from Thanksgiving to early February.

No word yet on whether the private US university will be online or in person. We did find out that that the commencement ceremonies for my kid will be late April midweek, when no one else can make it if they're in person. I give it more than 50% odds that either the ceremonies or my job or both will be online by then though.

 

[mrsw94]

Our daughter is set for her Freshman year at Sonoma State (A California CSU). We had been flip flopping on trying to have her be on campus this fall (even though we knew all her classes would be online), but got an email today with the following information. That sealed the deal for us. She'll be remote learning from home for the fall semester, and we will cross our fingers for the Spring. This was the email we got:

Campus Updates for the Fall Semester

• The California State University system is requiring all 23 campuses to primarily deliver courses via virtual or remote instruction.
• A handful of upper division labs/classes (300/400/500 levels) that are required for graduation or that require specialized equipment will be taught in-person pending approval from the Chancellor’s Office.
• First year student classes will only be offered virtually.
• The majority of campus services will be available virtually and most campus buildings and offices will have limited to no accessibility for in-person services.
• Dining services will be scaled to address actual occupancy of Campus Housing. Students will utilize apartment kitchens as their primary source for personal meal preparation. We will have limited food service options open on campus and will also have the food bank open on campus.
• CCAA Intercollegiate Athletic competitions have been suspended for Fall 2020.
• REACH and Student Affairs are planning to offer a full selection of virtual engagement opportunities for students--you will still be able to see friends whether you are on or off campus and have fun with your favorite Seawolves!

The 'most of campus building will be closed' part and 'kitchens as their primary source for meals' sealed the deal for us. Luckily she'll have a few friends staying home (some at the local JC, one or two with other State schools). She'll get a job, and try to make the best of it.

We did talk about the bright side of possibly taking a Disneyland or Universal Studios vacation in October (depending on how things look) during her younger brother's fall break. Since her classes are online, she can just find a quiet place to go to class, or go back to the hotel!

 

[HeatherC]

With all the college athletes testing positive I’m thinking this cannot bode well for sending kids back to campus for the fall semester. College living is close quarters no matter how you slice it. And realistically how do you “social distance” thousands of students effectively...all day, every day? Even with adding remote learning into the mix.

 

[mom2rtk]

I really feel for high school seniors/incoming university students right now. I teach at a major university and have a first year foundation course in the fall term. We’re going to be 100% online, dorms closed, professors don’t even know if we’ll be able to access our offices in the fall. We’ve been told to drop course content down to 30% of what you’d normally teach and just focus on getting first year students integrated into a community of some kind. Be present and responsive as an instructor and focus on well-being... even if they learn very little of the course’s actual content. It breaks my heart that THIS will be these kids’ introduction to university life. It sucks.

30%? Is that just for your first year foundation course or for other courses as well?

 

[MrsPete]

THIS cannot be emphasized enough. SOME things are fine for virtual meetings a lot of the time, but nothing is a substitute for real live personal interaction.

Agree, but we don't have a better option at this point.

My daughter will be attending an SEC school this fall and their plan was put out this week.
1. Dorms are open and at normal capacity and room occupancy stays the same.
2. Classes switch to online after Thanksgiving.
3. Rec center will be open and it states no mask needed in the work out areas. The policy for this seemed unclear to me in other areas of the facility .
4. Mask are needed indoors in classes and in public spaces but not in dorms.
5. Student Life will continue but with modifications per health guidelines. For example sorority recruitment will still be held on campus at normal time but the first 2 rounds will be on line, last 2 in person with some modifications like smaller party sizes, and bid day in person but no parents inside chapter facilitates.
6. Dinning facilities including sorority and fraternity houses will need to follow whatever the current health guidelines are at the time.
7. Mandatory testing for all students at the beginning of the semester and then after that there will be mandatory random testing for students living on campus. Contact tracing will be done but voluntary only. Quarantine areas for students to stay upon testing positive.

This sounds like a breeding ground for the virus.
What's the rational to switching to online after Thanksgiving?

It would probably save money just to get a hotel room for those Monday nights if the weather is bad or she is tired!

When one of my daughters had to attend a mandatory summer school, we looked into this option. We factored in every cost: gas, free breakfast at a hotel, lack of access to the library and study groups. Her classes were Monday and Wednesday, so it didn't work for us -- but if you have classes on back-to-back days, it should be cheaper!

I think they were smart. Their on-line tuition is not that far off from community college's tuition. This way they will probably keep their incoming freshmen and have them back on campus as sophomores.

Yes, smart. We can't make things "normal" for college kids, but we can walk them through freshman year /just keep them moving forward, then hopefully we'll have a vaccine before their sophomore year begins. Hopefully their "normal" is just delayed a bit.

The college freshmen and sophomores can take online classes /transfer later /whatever other options work. The students for whom I feel worst are the college seniors. They'll miss out on internships and real-world learning experiences.

Early in this mess I kept talking about how sad I was for this year's seniors. How many of life's milestones they were missing out on. Then a few weeks ago it started dawning on me that this year's seniors might miss out on an entire year of milestones. It's just so hard to even wrap my brain around all of it. All of what this year's seniors missed, plus fall sports, plus homecoming, plus fall plays plus Court Warming. Plus even a single day or normalcy the entire year. It's just so sad.

Agree. When this started, I never expected we'd fear that the class of 2021 could lose the majority of their school year.

I will say this: my high school seniors were generally okay with the way their high school experience ended. Oh, they missed spring sports and and are pretty salty about prom (especially the girls who'd already bought dresses) -- but they missed 10 weeks of school and their workload was greatly reduced. They slept in for 10 weeks. They still had a great graduation, and they were given some cool stuff at the end of the year, which other classes haven't been given. Overall, they were satisfied with their lot, saying it was a good trade off. Of course, they started their senior year normally.
Agree or disagree, this is what my just-graduated high school seniors are saying.

30%? Is that just for your first year foundation course or for other courses as well?

Of course high school is different, but in the just-ended semester we were told to assign about 30% of what we usually do in class. It doesn't bode well long-term.

 

[mom2rtk]

I will say this: my high school seniors were generally okay with the way their high school experience ended. Oh, they missed spring sports and and are pretty salty about prom (especially the girls who'd already bought dresses) -- but they missed 10 weeks of school and their workload was greatly reduced. They slept in for 10 weeks. They still had a great graduation, and they were given some cool stuff at the end of the year, which other classes haven't been given. Overall, they were satisfied with their lot, saying it was a good trade off. Of course, they started their senior year normally.
Agree or disagree, this is what my just-graduated high school seniors are saying.
Of course high school is different, but in the just-ended semester we were told to assign about 30% of what we usually do in class. It doesn't bode well long-term.

Can't say I'm shocked many kids were OK with all of it. I mean, what kid gets upset at missing the last 10 weeks of something like Calculus and getting to sleep in? But then what happens to the ones who want to major in something like Engineering? They're going in behind and heaven only knows what their experience will be like in college. Some of them might never catch up. This all makes me so nervous for them.

30% just doesn't get the job done. And it gets even more complicated in college if kids are taking out loans for those 30% experiences.

 

[sjrec]

My daughter is 15 years out of college, but I cannot imagine trying to sort out what the best option would be for your kids! I have a friend that teaches in a state university near us and she said things are still being decided. She just hopes parents know even if the school is saying a course will be in person, the student might actually attend once a week or once a month if it’s a large class. They’re also being told to have an online version and in person lesson for all their classes-because students will be able to choose.
Honestly, I wouldn’t be inclined to send my child to college to take courses in their dorm room-I think we would have had the conversation that I know it’s not what you expected, but take one or two courses at home and we reevaluate in the spring.
But I certainly feel for all of you making this tough decisions.

 

[Debbie Jean]

30% just doesn't get the job done. And it gets even more complicated in college if kids are taking out loans for those 30% experiences.

As a faculty member, I can tell you that 30% wouldn’t even be acceptable in a first year foundations course.

At my institution, the administration has told all faculty to prepare course content in multiple modalities to give them the flexibility to respond to changing situations. Preliminary plan is on campus instruction with more online sections being offered. But the expectation is certainly 100% course content.

 

[FoundMyPrince]

DS begins his freshman year this fall. First day of classes has changed from August 17 to September 14. Classes go until December 14 and finals will be following Christmas break. We are waiting until July 31 for the rest of the information including when move-in day for his dorm.

 

[DisneyMomx7]

Both my kids attend Flagler College in St Augustine. DD will be a senior and DS will be a junior. We just got an email stating they will be doing in person classes August 26 through Thanksgiving break. It seems that the contingency plan that we are to prepare for is going to online classes from Thanksgiving until end of semester. No word on Spring semester. Worse part is that DS lives in dorm and the addendum to dorm agreement is that they are not offering any refunds if and when they close the dorms this year.

 

[eMoneyBug]

Our daughter is set for her Freshman year at Sonoma State (A California CSU). We had been flip flopping on trying to have her be on campus this fall (even though we knew all her classes would be online), but got an email today with the following information. That sealed the deal for us. She'll be remote learning from home for the fall semester, and we will cross our fingers for the Spring. This was the email we got:

Campus Updates for the Fall Semester

• The California State University system is requiring all 23 campuses to primarily deliver courses via virtual or remote instruction.
• A handful of upper division labs/classes (300/400/500 levels) that are required for graduation or that require specialized equipment will be taught in-person pending approval from the Chancellor’s Office.
• First year student classes will only be offered virtually.
• The majority of campus services will be available virtually and most campus buildings and offices will have limited to no accessibility for in-person services.
• Dining services will be scaled to address actual occupancy of Campus Housing. Students will utilize apartment kitchens as their primary source for personal meal preparation. We will have limited food service options open on campus and will also have the food bank open on campus.
• CCAA Intercollegiate Athletic competitions have been suspended for Fall 2020.
• REACH and Student Affairs are planning to offer a full selection of virtual engagement opportunities for students--you will still be able to see friends whether you are on or off campus and have fun with your favorite Seawolves!

The 'most of campus building will be closed' part and 'kitchens as their primary source for meals' sealed the deal for us. Luckily she'll have a few friends staying home (some at the local JC, one or two with other State schools). She'll get a job, and try to make the best of it.

We did talk about the bright side of possibly taking a Disneyland or Universal Studios vacation in October (depending on how things look) during her younger brother's fall break. Since her classes are online, she can just find a quiet place to go to class, or go back to the hotel!

Thanks for the update, my son is a junior transfer into a CSU from community college, got more info from your post than him! I guess he's staying home for 1st semester, but realistically probably the whole school year.

 

[Kimberlyann11]

My daughter is supposed to be student teaching a kindergarten class in the fall semester. We aren't sure what the public schools are going to do in her area. Our state is doing very well when it comes to new coronavirus cases - but the area where she is going to teach has been a problem.

I have no idea how you would even attempt to teach kindergarten online. I mean obviously it's a learning process for everyone, but she would like some experience actually teaching in person before being sent out on her own.