Fall 2020 will bring the first full college term of the COVID-19 pandemic, and no one knows quite what to expect. Plexiglass has been installed in classrooms. Professors have brushed up on their online teaching skills. New social distancing rules have been issued for students—and already broken. How will it all work out?
We’ve enlisted professors and students at six colleges, and we’ve asked them to share audio diaries of college life in this unprecedented time. Follow their stories here.
Latest episode:
Look for new episodes of this series every other Tuesday, on the EdSurge Podcast feed.
This project is supported by a reporting fellowship from the Education Writers Association.
On this first installment of the series: Why this is not just about the inconveniences of plexiglass barriers in classrooms and masked teaching. The stakes for this semester are high, and so are tensions.
Classes are back in session at colleges around the country. Well something like college classes are happening. But in this fall semester like no other, with a pandemic reshaping so many facets of our lives, can colleges pull off effective teaching that’s also safe? And if they can, does it feel like college?
Getting the balance between safety and openness right is a continuous challenge. But much has clearly been lost in terms of social interaction this fall. Can colleges find a way to stay open and offer meaningful extracurricular activities?
What is studying like this semester when teaching is strained by safety measures like plexiglass barriers and masks in classrooms and online classes taught by so many professors who are new to the format and clearly struggling to figure out what works. Are students learning?
Who is disappearing from higher education due to the pandemic, and what are professors are doing to try to keep students going in these challenging times? Those are the questions tackled on the latest in our semester-long series of on-the-ground reports from students and professors at six campuses.
We're releasing this on Election Day in the U.S. And for this installment of our Pandemic Campus Diaries series, we are focusing on how the election and social unrest have been playing out on campuses during this pandemic semester. Students seem to be voting this election season like never before. But some professors are struggling to hold productive discussions of political issues in this polarized time.
This stressful and disrupted semester is leading professors to rethink how they teach, and helping students learn about themselves. But are there things that will stick even after the health emergency ends? Hear views from six campuses on the latest installment of our Pandemic Campus Diaries series.
Some colleges were committed to doing as much in-person teaching and activities as possible this semester, even during this health crisis. While other colleges decided early on to focus attention online and pretty much shutter campus for now. For our series finale of the Pandemic Campus Diaries series, we ask: which decision was the right one for students and professors?
The Professors
Rachel Davenport, Texas State University Title: Senior Lecturer Subject Area: Biology
“What I'm most concerned about is that one of my students will get sick enough that they are forever affected or sick enough that they don't make it. And then if that happens, will I wonder, did they catch it in my class? Could I have done something different to have prevented it?”
Deborah Nichols, Purdue University Title: Associate Professor Subject Area: Human Development and Family Studies
Nichols studies early childhood and the cognitive development of young children. She is also the chair of Purdue’s University Senate. She is teaching classes in person this semester in West Lafayette, Indiana.
“They have a plexiglass shield at the front of a classroom where I would stand behind. They have sanitizing wipes by either door, where there's a sign that says, ‘Please use these wipes to sanitize your desk before and after use.’”
Sabine Brunswicker, Purdue University Title: Professor Subject Area: Digital Innovation
Brunswicker directs the Research Center for Open Digital Innovation at Purdue. She’ll be teaching hybrid courses this semester.
“I am going to wear a face mask and shield, and I don't know how I'm going to speak properly. So I requested a microphone to actually put underneath the face mask because otherwise it's going to be difficult to actually communicate.”
David Peña-Guzmán, San Francisco State University Title: Assistant Professor Subject Areas: Humanities and Liberal Studies
Peña-Guzmán focuses on history and philosophy of science, animal studies, feminist philosophy, bioethics and social theory. He is teaching online this semester, and doing so remotely, from Paris, where he is doing research in archives.
“My graduate seminar on the humanities is synchronous, and it meets every Wednesday from 4 to 7:00 p.m., San Francisco time. That is 1 to 4 a.m. Paris time. And that means that on Wednesday nights, every week during the fall semester, I will have to pull an all-nighter.”
Peter Sands, University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee Title: Associate Professor Subject: English
Sands’ research interests include 19th-century American literature and culture, digital writing and art and utopianism and science fiction. He also directs the honors college at UWM. He will be teaching online this semester.
“I feel pretty prepared actually, personally. I’ve been teaching online or in networked environments since 1990. I'm a little less prepared to help the staff I work with, some of whom are teaching online for the first time.”
The Students
Luz Elena Anaya Chong, Texas State University Year: Senior
Even though Texas State is holding many classes in person this semester, Chong’s courses are all online and she’s back home with her family in southern Texas. She took summer classes at the university and noted how strangely empty the usually bustling campus felt.
“I’m afraid for the people that are going to be staying on campus about how the cases are going to increase.”
Joseph Ching, Purdue University Year: Junior
Ching will be living near campus and some of his classes will be in person this semester. He is majoring in industrial engineering.
“I really don't want to see anyone get sick seriously or suffer. But if we all abide by the guidelines, I think we can pull it off, but it's, it's going to be very difficult—very difficult.”
Marjorie Blen, San Francisco State University Year: Junior
Blen is a first-generation college student who just transferred from City College of San Francisco. She’s juggling raising two young kids and going to college. Her university is teaching only online this semester.
“My plan is that if my work area at home in my little two bedroom apartment does not work out, I will be using my car to do my homework. I'll be utilizing my mobile hotspot or parking at Starbucks or McDonald's or any open Wi-Fi area to make sure I turn in all my assignments on time.”
Adrienne Davis, University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee Year: Junior
Davis just transferred from Milwaukee Area Technical College, where she got her associate degree in e-production and digital media, and she is going to school part time while working. All of her classes are online this semester.
“Our campus is mostly closed due to the COVID, but there are still some areas of the school, I believe, that we still can access, which I will do in the future.”
Natalie Richardi, Chapman University Year: Junior
Richardi will be living on campus this semester, even though classes at her private university in Southern California are all online. She wanted to be in town for an internship at a local hospital. She is majoring in premed and health sciences.
“My biggest concern is involving labs because labs are so hands-on, and the type of labs I'll be taking this semester have real- world applications related to patient care.”
Joshua Reed Freson, Syracuse University Year: Freshman
Freson will be living on campus in upstate New York and taking most of his courses in person this semester.
“We're not even going to get to dine in the actual dining hall. But oh well, we have to make some sacrifices in order to be able to have school in person this semester.”
