A finalized schedule will be available August 3 concerning if classes are in person or online according to the Associate Vice Provost of Enrollment Management Kyle Moore. What is shown now in regards to classes in WyoWeb for students is not the final decision and may change.
Students find this to be “irritating” and an “emotional roller coaster” as students Jenna Keller, a junior studying Elementary Education, and Shianne Shaver, a junior studying Architectural Engineering, said.
“A lot of people are deciding whether to sign leases to go back to Laramie and having classes online or in person will greatly affect these decisions,” said Kellar. “With school starting in a little over 3 weeks, I think it’s inconsiderate to not have an official decision made by now.”
Shaver shares the same concern and also said it is difficult to prepare for classes when there is no clear decision made on how the class course work and education will be given. She is remaining hopeful that her teachers will provide the best leadership they can whether it’s through in person education or online.
“I anticipate that each faculty member and department is being very thoughtful about considering which courses will be changing modality,” said Moore. “I have no sense right now that a drastic change will be seen from our July 21 report.”
The July 21 report Moore is referring to is a University of Wyoming press release which states that 35 percent of classes are online, which is more than the historical 15 percent. This is about 800 courses while more than 2 thousand remain partially in person.
As of now, all of Kellar’s classes are online. She said she has never taken a full course of 14 credits all online and is worried she will not gain all she could from those classes due to the change from in person.
“I don’t think it will affect my grades because professors in the college of education are seriously amazing and so great to work with! But I think it will affect what I gain from the classes because social interaction/ discussion is such a big piece of learning,” said Kellar.
Shaver is taking six classes this coming semester, three of which have been moved online. She said she is worried about two of those classes being fully online due to them being more technical and her not knowing the instructors for them yet. These classes are fluid dynamics and structural analysis. Shaver foresees struggling in understanding the material and applying it to problems of her own in her future field.
“I don’t have much experience but from last semester when they moved online I started doing worse,” said Shaver. “I like having the element of interacting with teachers in a traditional setting. When I learn online I feel like I can copy cat what I see but when I get to see the teacher and view their problem solving on the board I understand what steps are essential to moving on in a problem and understanding why I am taking the certain steps that I am.”
Shaver said she is “not a fan” of the fall plan to have half in person and half online classes due to the mental and emotional strain that comes with a lack of social interaction. Most of her friends and herself prefer to have classes in person for the interaction with peers and the instructors especially for classes required for their major, she said.
Kellar has an in person practicum class where she does observations in classrooms for her education major. She said she is unaware of how this can be accomplished online. This is due to the fact that collaboration in the classroom is a big aspect of an educator’s life and believes it is great to start that in college to help students once they have a classroom of their own.
Both Kellar and Shaver find negatives in the fall change and have stated frustrations over the miscommunication in what their schedules will be in the fall. Moore said there have already been changes with classes going from in person to online and vice versa since July 21.
“I don’t think I view these changes as any kind of setback, but rather a strong representation of the ‘Cowboy’ spirit of grit, determination and resilience as we face a new challenge,” said Moore. “All our conversations have centered around the health and safety of our university community and the desire to best serve our students this fall. The biggest setback is not having the ability to celebrate the return of students in the fall – in the same in person manners we have in the past.”
