More than 20 million students, faculty and staff are about to start the college fall semester in the United States. With an unending slough of complications from the global pandemic, thought leaders in education are grappling with high level implications that could have an effect on universities for years to come.
A recent article published by the Wall Street Journal highlighted how different trends and decisions could impact the development of university life in the fall of 2020 - from billions of dollars in lost revenue to student retention rates and more.
Caption: An instructor teaches in-person classes at Texas A&M University’s Zachry Engineering Education Complex in February, 2020.
Many colleges are struggling with the difficult issues at hand - if campuses are opened to students, it could quickly result in a shockwave of Coronavirus cases throughout classrooms, dormitories, and dining halls…
But at the same time, taking classes and campus life completely virtual by solely offering online learning may risk a drop in enrollment, lost tuition, and students transferring to alternative institutions. The Wall Street Journal explains,
“College presidents are basically in an impossible situation,” said Robert Kelchen, an associate professor of higher education at Seton Hall University. “If they announce they’re going online too soon, they run the risk of losing students and probably making some alumni mad at them. If they open up in person there are serious health concerns, and they run the risk of protests and a vote of no-confidence.”
In a study staged from July 1, 2020 to July 26, 2020, The Chronicle of Higher Education monitored the trend in college’s reopening decisions.
What percentage of schools plan to bring students back for in-person classes? Who will offer online instruction only? How many universities will have a hybrid model, or a mix of both on-campus and virtual teaching and learning?
The research found that to start, 63% of schools planned to bring students back for in-person classes; 9% would offer only online instruction; and 18% would have a mix of both (hybrid), with 11% waiting to decide.
Only several weeks later, the responses indicated that 53% of schools plan to bring students back for in-person classes; 12% will offer only online instruction; and 3% are waiting to decide. This left an increase in hybrid reopening plans of 14%, with 32% of colleges planning to offer a mix of in-person classes and virtual teaching and learning.
Douglas Belkin and Melissa Korn, “Back-to-College Plans Devolve Into a Jumble of Fast-Changing Rules”, The Wall Street Journal, July 28, 2020.
The biggest trend of all: agility and flexibility. Why?
“By the time a report is produced and a decision is made and announced, the situation has changed yet again,” said Kim Weeden, a sociology professor at Cornell.
No matter the plan, there are concerns for both instructors and students.
According to the College and University Professional Association of Human Resources, close to 40% of tenure-track faculty are ages 55 and above (compared with 23% of all U.S. workers), which puts instructors much more at risk to COVID-19 complications than students. Many instructors are opting to teach virtually if there is a viable option to do so.
But with any scenario of teaching this fall - whether in-person, completely remote, or some combination of the two, student experience is key.
On a recent T1V webinar on COVID-19 impact on education, expert panelist Jodie Penrod, Senior Director, Technology of Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine commented that the quality of student experience is more important than ever.
Easy to adopt and easy-to-use technology solutions can be used to power both synchronous and asynchronous HyFlex classroom experiences.
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T1V’s ThinkHub collaboration software is ideal for supporting hybrid learning rooms. The solution is designed to:
- Support a hybrid model, where students/instructors split time between the classroom and home
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- Support multiple Video Conferencing options like Zoom, Webex, MS Teams, BlueJeans, and more…
- Work with existing technology already deployed in room, meaning a low-cost upgrade that supports a HyFlex learning environment
For more information about ThinkHub Connect hybrid learning solutions, schedule a demo with our sales team today.