Colleges Prepare to Move Online as Lockdown Continues
UC, CSU colleges consider holding online classes in the fall 2020 semester
By Maxwell Moiseff
UC, CSU colleges consider holding online classes in the fall 2020 semester
By Maxwell Moiseff
As the COVID-19 shelter-in-place order stretches into its third month, many colleges around California and the United States are planning for how to respond to the virus.
According to incoming University of California, Davis, student Robin Dewis, 12, the university plans on having some online instruction.
“Our most recent update was an email that UC Davis sent through undergraduate admissions near the end of April,” said Dewis. “They said that due to social distancing guidelines, ‘some or all’ of our 2020-2021 school year will be online. They also said that tuition has been set and won’t be refunded if we do have class online, and that their housing guarantee for students may be withdrawn.”
Dewis expressed her annoyance with Davis’ policies.
“I’m disappointed that we won’t get the college experience that we were hoping for, but I’m glad they’re promising at least some refunds,” said Dewis. “It’s frustrating to have updates that are infrequent and not super telling — everything is really up in the air now. The fact that our fees are staying the same despite being online seems somewhat unfair, but I’m hoping they’ll use the money to make the online experience accessible to everyone.”
Jared Watrous, 12, plans on attending University of California, Berkeley, in the fall, said that although the college hopes to reopen in fall if circumstances permit, there is still no definite plan for what will happen.
“One thing I’ve seen is that they’ve created three committees to plan for three possible scenarios: 1. Normal fall semester, 2. On-campus instruction with limits and 3. Virtual classes,” said Watrous. “I haven’t seen if they’ve come up with plans yet, but that was a couple weeks ago.”
Watrous explained that he would prefer to be able to go to college in person, if possible.
“Personally, I hope they don’t have online classes because I’d like to get to know the campus life my first semester, but I understand that it may simply be out of the school’s control.” said Watrous. “To be honest, I know that they’re going to do what they need to do and I trust that they’ll figure out the most efficient and safe way to conduct classes next year.”
Omkar Bhattacharya, 12, who also plans on attending UC Davis, said that he was happy with the school’s response, including the fact that the school is performing research and helping students financially.
“I think (Davis) is doing a good job ― they’re actually testing a vaccine for the coronavirus,” said Bhattacharya. “And they’re giving relief payments to a lot of students.”
Sean Wolf, 12, who will attend San Diego State University in the fall, said that he was disappointed by the fact that he will not be able to go to college in person and is frustrated that he will be paying money for facilities that he will not have immediate access to.
“I think this is really dumb because I’m paying all this money to sit in my room and learn by myself rather than in class with classmates,” said Wolf. “I’m also still going to have to pay for fees like the student body center and the health center, which I doubt I’ll be needing at my own house.”
Wolf said that he is especially unhappy that he will not be able to live on campus.
“One thing I was really excited for was to be a part of the campus life, and I’m disappointed that I’m going to have to wait a little longer to experience that.”
According to incoming University of California, Davis, student Robin Dewis, 12, the university plans on having some online instruction.
“Our most recent update was an email that UC Davis sent through undergraduate admissions near the end of April,” said Dewis. “They said that due to social distancing guidelines, ‘some or all’ of our 2020-2021 school year will be online. They also said that tuition has been set and won’t be refunded if we do have class online, and that their housing guarantee for students may be withdrawn.”
Dewis expressed her annoyance with Davis’ policies.
“I’m disappointed that we won’t get the college experience that we were hoping for, but I’m glad they’re promising at least some refunds,” said Dewis. “It’s frustrating to have updates that are infrequent and not super telling — everything is really up in the air now. The fact that our fees are staying the same despite being online seems somewhat unfair, but I’m hoping they’ll use the money to make the online experience accessible to everyone.”
Jared Watrous, 12, plans on attending University of California, Berkeley, in the fall, said that although the college hopes to reopen in fall if circumstances permit, there is still no definite plan for what will happen.
“One thing I’ve seen is that they’ve created three committees to plan for three possible scenarios: 1. Normal fall semester, 2. On-campus instruction with limits and 3. Virtual classes,” said Watrous. “I haven’t seen if they’ve come up with plans yet, but that was a couple weeks ago.”
Watrous explained that he would prefer to be able to go to college in person, if possible.
“Personally, I hope they don’t have online classes because I’d like to get to know the campus life my first semester, but I understand that it may simply be out of the school’s control.” said Watrous. “To be honest, I know that they’re going to do what they need to do and I trust that they’ll figure out the most efficient and safe way to conduct classes next year.”
Omkar Bhattacharya, 12, who also plans on attending UC Davis, said that he was happy with the school’s response, including the fact that the school is performing research and helping students financially.
“I think (Davis) is doing a good job ― they’re actually testing a vaccine for the coronavirus,” said Bhattacharya. “And they’re giving relief payments to a lot of students.”
Sean Wolf, 12, who will attend San Diego State University in the fall, said that he was disappointed by the fact that he will not be able to go to college in person and is frustrated that he will be paying money for facilities that he will not have immediate access to.
“I think this is really dumb because I’m paying all this money to sit in my room and learn by myself rather than in class with classmates,” said Wolf. “I’m also still going to have to pay for fees like the student body center and the health center, which I doubt I’ll be needing at my own house.”
Wolf said that he is especially unhappy that he will not be able to live on campus.
“One thing I was really excited for was to be a part of the campus life, and I’m disappointed that I’m going to have to wait a little longer to experience that.”