Fall 2020 online? What students want for Fall

It has already been a month since the Spring 2020 semester has ended and students are wondering if they can go back to their campuses and dorms in Fall. Well, California State University system has announced that Fall 2020 will go entirely online. On the other hand, some schools like Ithaca College will reopen but later than usual; Fall 2020 classes will begin in October instead of August. Stakeholders of colleges and universities including parents, students and prospective students are wondering how U.S. higher education institutions would put social distancing into context. Two higher education professionals, Edward J. Maloney and Joshua Kim, came up with 15 scenarios for Fall 2020 classes. This single article got more than 327,000 views at the end of May and it’s getting more and more since then. A research based on the 15 fall scenarios showed that what students prefer for Fall 2020 intake is different depending on their school years. Details of 15 scenarios and what students want will be introduced.

Contents

• 15 Scenarios
• What students want for Fall 2020

15 Scenarios

Below is the list of 15 possible scenarios that U.S. universities can develop on to ensure social distancing across the campus. A brief explanation about each scenario will be included and full explanation can be found in the original article.

1. Back to Normal: In this scenario, students are welcomed to go back to their campuses and residential halls. However, still with this model, classes will not be the same as before. There will be less chairs in the classroom and most of team projects might be conducted online.
2. A Late Start: Some schools might want to take more time before they re-open the campus. By reopening late, schools can learn lessons from other institutions but one downside is that the schedule can be disrupted by a second wave of COVID-19.
3. Moving Fall to Spring: This scenario plays out in a way that Fall semester is pushed back to early 2021. Then, schools might have a very short period of winter/ spring break and resume Spring or Summer semester.
4. First-Year Intensive: From the university student retention perspective, it is crucial to increase student engagement by having freshmen students on campus. In this view, universities may bring in first year students only, while other students take online classes.
5. Graduate Students Only: Similar to first year students, another possible scenario is having graduate students only on campus, as they have higher needs of studies/ researches or projects than undergrad students.
6. Structured Gap Year: To put it simply, a structured gap year model is making an entire semester as a project-based semester. Students are encouraged to submit the proposal to achieve academic goals while keeping the social distance. As it is one of the good low-density model options, good number of colleges are considering this scenario.
7. Targeted Curriculum: In this model, only core curriculums or signature classes will be delivered on campus. Other general classes will be taught online. Again, this is another good alternative for schools which are looking for low-density models.
8. Split Curriculum: In a split curriculum scenario, courses are designed as either residential or online. This scenario has the advantage of simplifying the course selection process for students.
9. A Block Plan: Courses which are designed as blocks run much shorter like less than a month and multiple blocks will be running throughout the semester. This model has advantages that it gives higher education institutions a high level of flexibility.
10. Modularity: If block courses are too extreme changes for faculties and administrators, they might go with modules. Modules offer great flexibility too and it doesn’t require a full re-thinking of course development.
11. Students in Residence, Learning Virtually: This scenario welcomes students to live in dorms but all the classes will be offered online. This model has great advantage of letting students to participate in diverse campus activities that would allow social distancing to be employed.
12. A Low-Residency Model: A low-residency model can be played out in various ways. For example, students can have intensive face to face courses and complete the semester online.
13. A HyFlex Model: This model offers both in person and online classes.
14. A Modified Tutorial Model: In this model, students take online classes and later meet with TA (Teaching Assistants) or professors while following the social distancing guidelines.
15. Fully Remote: Fall 2020 online scenarios can be played out if schools would like to minimize in person contacts.

What students want for Fall 2020

The above mentioned 15 models were introduced to different groups of students that include international students, graduate students, first year students to see students’ preferences over the Fall semester. Total 21,847 respondents said that the most appealing scenario is in-person classes, hybrid and module or block courses while delaying the start of the Fall 2020 being the least appealing. In terms of Fall 2020 online classes, 54% of students said it’s unappealing and only 7% of students responded that they found online classes to be effective. Niche, which conducted the research reported that “the biggest issues reported with online learning are a lack of consistent, or any, Internet access and a loss of structure for students.” Compare to domestic students, international students who are attending community college or graduate schools were more likely to consider transferring out, if they are not satisfied with the Fall 2020 academic plans. Similarly, undergraduate international students who are attending public universities were more tend to consider transferring. International group of students also commented that they are getting less satisfied with their school’s response over time. One of the interesting findings is that first year students think tuitions and fees should be adjusted if Fall 2020 semester goes online than returning students.

I am an international student, my financial situation is very bad, moving to NY to undertake my studies would be an enormous effort and compromise my future. I am a musician and know the importance of face-to-face learning in the field. I cannot move to NY to have online lessons.

Graduate student from Munich, Germany from Niche

What is your favorite Fall 2020 scenario among these 15 examples? Can you relate to the research results? It is difficult for universities and colleges to meet all the needs, but it is important to hear from students and reflect their voices on the program planning.

References

• 15 Fall Scenarios by Edward J. Maloney and Joshua Kim from Inside Higher Ed.
• Student Voices – The Path to Fall 2020 Will Patch from Niche