OT: UNC shuts down in person classes [merged thread]

[Argonaut]

A good friend of mine whose son just arrived at UNC last week told me last night that he's being packed up and moved home this weekend.

 

[Steelerone]

I guess the fake classes are still a go

UNC= University of Northern Colorado ... UNC.Cheat is located in Chapel Hill.

Spoken like a true Dukie

 

[Steelerone]

If anyone is suprised that the "football factories" such as the SEC and ACC still want to subject players to practice and games please contact me. I am getting together a poker game this weekend and I definitely want you in the game.

 

[triaddukefan]

Not all the adults at Chapel Hill are being irresponsible. WBB Coach Courtney Banghart wants to play late into March. A couple of players this fall, and 4 great commits for 21. If she could do what she did at Princeton, the sky is the limit for her at UNC.

2021 High School Girls' Basketball Recruits - North Carolina - ESPN

Find what players have committed to your favorite school. Videos, analysis and more on ESPN.com

www.espn.com

 

[sivad40]

 

[EdSaid]

The Chronicle of Higher Education is taking some shots at school openings.

Anger, Confusion, and Resignation as Chapel Hill’s Campus Rapidly Empties

Students, professors, and perhaps even some administrators wonder: Should the University of North Carolina flagship have opened at all?

www.chronicle.com

I get the Chronicle free, but I think anyone can get it for free if they register. Some good reading material.

 

[EdSaid]

Chapel Hill and Notre Dame Are Just the Beginning

Both institutions have had to flip online in response to rapidly rising levels of infection. Public-health experts say other campuses will probably suffer similar fates.

www.chronicle.com

 

[Ozimoto]

At this rate I just hope that my son has in person classes for his senior year. He is not pleased with on line learning (so far) and has said if he has to take on line classes next semester he will likely take a gap year before he completes his degree.

Not too thrilled about that, but can't say I blame him.

 

[oldude]

At this rate I just hope that my son has in person classes for his senior year. He is not pleased with on line learning (so far) and has said if he has to take on line classes next semester he will likely take a gap year before he completes his degree.

Not too thrilled about that, but can't say I blame him.

Your son is not alone, with some estimates indicating 40% declines in enrollment at US colleges. I also sympathize with the concern of many, that online learning “cheapens” the college experience, although very few colleges are actually reducing tuition charges.

Social interaction and growth is a key element of the college experience. So too is physical access to faculty, administrators, libraries and labs. It’s difficult to see how remote learning, even at the finest colleges in America, is in anyway superior to online learning at a local community college.

There is a great scene in Good Will Hunting when Matt Damon confronts an obnoxious Harvard student by telling him, “You wasted $150,000 on an education you coulda got with $1.50 in late fees at the public library.” That sort of expresses my general view on remote learning.

 

[Ozimoto]

My sister who is a retired dean of arts and sciences at a local small liberal arts college and who now works for them as a consultant says that she has no clue how some programs such as nursing can survive with on line learning only as so much of the education for those careers requires hands on skills learning and interaction with real human patients to become effective care providers.

Other majors require the same sorts of skill sets to produce successful and productive graduates. If this pandemic lasts for several years, we are going to have a significant number of kids of all ages who are going to have to struggle with the "lost years" of their educational experience, not to mention the loss of interpersonal interactions and relationships that allow them to become productive members of society.

 

[Argonaut]

Your son is not alone, with some estimates indicating 40% declines in enrollment at US colleges. I also sympathize with the concern of many, that online learning “cheapens” the college experience, although very few colleges are actually reducing tuition charges.

Social interaction and growth is a key element of the college experience. So too is physical access to faculty, administrators, libraries and labs. It’s difficult to see how remote learning, even at the finest colleges in America, is in anyway superior to online learning at a local community college.

There is a great scene in Good Will Hunting when Matt Damon confronts an obnoxious Harvard student by telling him, “You wasted $150,000 on an education you coulda got with $1.50 in late fees at the public library.” That sort of expresses my general view on remote learning.

When online learning is done well, it is very effective.

I did my second master's completely online through UNC Greensboro and I had some professors who were just as wonderful, engaging, and captivating, if not more so, than some of the folks I had in person during undergrad. Others were absolutely dreadful and just lectured at us for three hours a week. If you wanted to retain that information, it took a lot of energy on your part.

Just like any kind of teaching, the quality of the course is going to be what the professor puts into it and, like any kind of learning, students have to decide what kind of time/energy investment they're going to make so the information sticks.

But for some courses (mainly those that are lab intensive or require some kind of practicum or internship), it's an impossible switch.

 

[UcMiami]

The concerns I have with on-line learning lean toward socioeconomic ones - in k-12 the problems seem monumental for economically challenged households and those in rural communities that still struggle with high speed internet access. There is a strong possibility that on-line schooling will increase the separation of access for poor/rural communities and I am not aware of any initiatives to specifically address these issues.

At the college/post college level I agree with Argonaut that it comes down to dedication and discipline, but there is still some spill over to the off-campus/home environment available for the students. And no question that the practical and lab based learning becomes almost impossible.

I would say that both nursing and physician training is probably one area where accommodation will be encouraged if not demanded. States have already loosened requirements for health care workers to advance to patient care prior to full accreditation and much of the later stage of nursing school and medical school is actual hands on practice in hospitals and other medical facilities and I am sure those 'courses' will continue.