COVID-19 Forces Classes Online for Remainder of the Semester
The following article was featured in the May 2020 edition of The Campus
By Kazi Maisha
Spring 2020 is surely an unprecedented time for all students and faculty at The City College of New York (CCNY). On March 11, President Boudreau released a statement explaining that effective the next day, CCNY would be shifting to distance learning for the remainder a semester in accordance with New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo’s decree.
Boudreau stated that, “These are not normal times, and we are not making ordinary adjustments... We are a public institution, playing its role in a public health crisis... Let’s make sure that when we think back on these days, and the challenges they presented to us, we’ll be proud of how we responded. I know that we will be.”
With an optimistic tone, he made it clear that the adjustments made during this semester will go toward mitigating the effects of the pandemic., By transitioning 16,544 students and more than 95% of CUNY’s 50,000 courses to remote instruction, CUNY Chancellor Matos Rodríguez and President Boudreau have effectively reduced virus transmission among the student body. However, despite the great benefit of administering a virtual semester, many CCNY students have reservations about it.
A two-question survey was distributed to 30 CCNY students. The first question asked the survey taker to list two to five words regarding their sentiments on the virtual semester. The second question asked to categorize those words as “negative,” “positive,” or “ambivalent”. As seen to the right, most people felt negatively about the school’s shutdown. The top words used were “inefficient” and “dragging.”
When following up with the students, many explained that some of their classes were pointless as virtual classes, such as labs, and that they often felt an ineffective engagement with their professors through virtual media. In fact, some students felt that their professors seemed to offer even more work now or remain strict with deadlines. The sentiments shared by these students intersected with the idea that the pandemic is a difficult and crazy time for a lot of us, and therefore, we have trouble completing their coursework.
Stemming from this particular issue, students have suggested that their professors should be more cognizant and respectful during this public health crisis. A heartbreaking part of this semester that has seemed to drag down many seniors is the postponement of graduation, which was declared by the Chancellor on April 3. Overall, many people seemed to miss the real-life connections and campus life CCNY had to offer, causing them to feel unmotivated and disengaged.
Regardless of these sentiments, CCNY’s shift toward a virtual semester seems pertinent due to the high risk of virus transmission. And it appears that CUNY is doing its best to meet these shortcomings pronounced by CCNY students. For example, from March 27 to April 4, a recalibration period was enacted so that students could have time to gain the necessary equipment for remote learning, such as laptops. Furthermore, on April 1, a flexible no credit/credit policy was introduced, understanding that many students are going through very difficult times due to the pandemic. On April 8, CUNY launched the Chancellor’s Emergency Relief Fund to help students in need.
Given that this semester is the first of its kind as we face an unprecedented public health crisis, the CCNY and CUNY community asks all members to abide by the measures enacted, so that the semester flows as smoothly as possible.
