After varying amounts of struggle, universities across the country moved online for the spring semester in response to the coronavirus pandemic. But now the question is, what’s next?
While some hope campuses will re-open come fall, no one knows for certain. In the meantime, university leaders are girding themselves for the possibility they’ll have to offer another semester online and asking themselves how to best prepare for more long-term remote learning.
Many are thinking outside the box – and outside the (virtual) classroom – about what resources students will need if online classes continue next year.
Over spring break, most campuses didn’t have the time to build the highest quality online programs as they scurried to open their virtual doors, but fall may hold new possibilities.
Clare McCann, deputy director for federal higher education policy at the think tank New America, stressed the importance of not only intentional “instructional design” but online student support now that schools have a “small (albeit very small) extra amount of time to prepare,” she wrote in an email.
Dr. Alison Davis-Blake, president of Bentley University, is working to create a “true virtual campus,” not just online courses, she said, to offer as much of the campus experience as possible online.
For example, the school held an online career fair and continues to offer remote career counseling. Groups of 40 students virtually meet with a student affairs representative for weekly check-ins and coaches continue to touch base with their athletes, even though they can’t play. Student government is up and running, alongside fraternities, sororities and other student groups that continue to virtually meet.
