Students at MSU prepare for an all-virtual summer semester

Administration still pondering what to do in the fall

Posted

WEDNESDAY, April 22 — Students at Michigan State University have another semester of Zoom classes, online quizzes and PDF textbooks to look forward to.

On April 2, the university announced that its summer semester would be taught entirely online, only three weeks after it was forced to transfer the spring semester’s in-person courses to the web.

As for the fall semester, MSU is looking at a range of possibilities.

“We have not made a final determination on fall semester yet but we are planning for all scenarios,” said spokesman Dan Olsen, from “a continuation of distanced learning, a combination of in person and distanced learning, and students returning to campus in the fall.”

The university has had to adjust its budget to make up for losses caused by the coronavirus outbreak. In a letter to all faculty and staff, President Samuel Stanley announced that MSU executives would take pay cuts ranging from 2% to 7% through May or June “but possibly a full year.” Stanley himself is taking a 10% reduction.

In this letter, Stanley also announced that some MSU construction and remodeling projects would be postponed or delayed. In addition, MSU plans to reduce travel and other discretionary expenditures.

According to CollegeFactual.com, international students make up over 13 percent of MSU’s student body. With travel restrictions and President Donald Trump’s recent announcement of a comprehensive 60-day ban on immigration, MSU is expecting to see fewer international students enrolling next school year.

“MSU is encouraging and accommodating international students who want to start out online with us this summer and fall,”Olsen said. “They might not be able to physically be here, but they are welcome and encouraged to take classes in remote formats to start.”

Stanley also announced a freeze on tuition for the coming academic year, except for the College of Law.

Some summer school students may find the transition to all digital classes easy, while others may be challenged by it.

Darren Incorvaia, a 25 year old Ph.D candidate in the Department of Integrative Biology and member of the Graduate Employees Union at MSU, has been researching for his dissertation and working as a teaching assistant this spring. The upcoming virtual semester doesn’t worry him, but his circumstances are unique. He said, “Summer for me is mostly research-focused with some online teaching. The courses I help with over the summer are built to be online.”

For example, this semester, Incorvaia only taught a lecture with hundreds of students. He said that classes like these are much easier to move online than something like a lab or studio art class.

His workload increased, he said, but the digital tools available to him made the transition to online simple. “It’s involved setting up assignments, doing online exams, helping with Zoom lectures,” explained Incorvaia. Apps like Zoom and MSU’s online learning service, Desire 2 Learn, provide nearly everything needed to run an online lecture.

For his colleagues, though, Incorvaia acknowledged that a virtual semester could potentially pose a problem. “I do expect many other students and instructors to struggle with courses that are supposed to meet in person now being online,” said Incorvaia. “Summer courses are already a lot more intense and jam-packed.”

Because they are shorter than a typical semester — 6 weeks as opposed to 12 — the summer semester is, by definition, more dense and fast-paced. Incorvaia said that he’s worried “online learning fatigue” will set in.

Asked if the university has been fair to students, Incorvaia said, “I feel they could be doing more to support them.” He noted that MSU set up a fund to support undergraduate students using money from the CARES Act, but this money has been unavailable to him and his fellow grad students. Incorvaia also pointed out that he has yet to hear any concrete plans for issuing tuition and housing refunds to students.

“Additionally, I think MSU should have released guidelines for instructors to be more lenient in their classes,” added Incorvaia. “Students have enough to worry about without being super stressed about grades.”

Issy Smith, 21, a junior majoring in organic and sustainable horticulture, initially flailed when her five spring semester courses went online. Her grades took a hit. “I stopped doing homework. I stopped doing it for a week and a half, and then I realized that I couldn’t recover.” Smith said that she thrives off face-to-face interaction with her professors — most of her courses take place in intimate classroom settings, not lecture halls — so it’s been harder for her to focus in online classes and harder to connect to the material.

In Smith’s largest course, her professor has complained about this aspect of Zoom, too. It’s impersonal. “The class is too big for everyone to do a video call,” explained Smith. “My professor is constantly asking if she’s going too fast or too slow or if the material is even interesting to us.”

After spending the past month and a half in endless Zoom classes, Smith feels like she has finally found her footing. “I think I'll be more used to it in the summer. It’ll only have one class instead of five, so I won’t have to spend all my time in front of the computer,” she said.

Smith seemed mainly unconcerned about the summer semester. However, the mystery of whether or not MSU will open its doors this fall tortures her. “I just want them to tell me!” she exclaimed.

Regardless of whether her classes are in-person or online, Smith is going forward with her plan to graduate. She said, “I’m taking thirteen credits in the fall and graduating in December no matter what.”

As for Incorvaia, he remains unsure of the future, though he has a prediction about the fall semester: “I expect we’ll be fully virtual.” He said that he hopes that MSU reduces tuition for online classes, considering “there is no way that students are gaining the same levels of knowledge and understanding in courses that were moved online.”

That being said, Incorvaia hopes that the school will also increase the amount of financial support it is providing for students, especially if they continue to hold classes online. According to him, the GEU has been in near-constant contact with the university for the past few months.

As of now, they’re trying to set up a student aid fund for graduate students, get students refunds on gym memberships and parking passes and also figure out how their healthcare plans operate now that everything runs online. In addition, some graduate students are facing complete stoppages of productivity on their research, adding extra stress to their already busy workload.

Members of the GEU have been communicating about their shared issues and concerns over Zoom, Slack and WhatsApp, trying the best they can to stay connected over the internet and provide support for each other. Incorvaia expressed uncertainty about his and his colleagues’ future, but he’s holding onto hope that solidarity will get them through this crisis.

“Many of us in the GEU feel inspired by how many grad students have stepped up and stayed involved in order to help the most vulnerable among us,” said Incorvaia. “Though we are facing many challenges, we feel hopeful going forward that we will be able to address them together.”

Students at MSU prepare for an all-virtual summer semester

Administration still pondering what to do in the fall

 

By COLE TUNNINGLEY

WEDNESDAY, April 22 — Students at Michigan State University have another semester of Zoom classes, online quizzes and PDF textbooks to look forward to. On April 2, the university announced that its summer semester would be taught entirely online, only three weeks after it was forced to transfer the spring semester’s in-person courses to the web.

As for the fall semester, MSU is looking at a range of possibilities.

“We have not made a final determination on fall semester yet but we are planning for all scenarios,” said spokesman Dan Olsen, from “a continuation of distanced learning, a combination of in person and distanced learning, and students returning to campus in the fall.”

The university has had to adjust its budget to make up for losses caused by the coronavirus outbreak. In a letter to all faculty and staff, President Samuel Stanley announced that MSU executives would take pay cuts ranging from 2% to 7% through May or June “but possibly a full year.” Stanley himself is taking a 10% reduction.

In this letter, Stanley also announced that some MSU construction and remodeling projects would be postponed or delayed. In addition, MSU plans to reduce travel and other discretionary expenditures.

According to CollegeFactual.com, international students make up over 13 percent of MSU’s student body. With travel restrictions and President Donald Trump’s recent announcement of a comprehensive 60-day ban on immigration, MSU is expecting to see fewer international students enrolling next school year.

 “MSU is encouraging and accommodating international students who want to start out online with us this summer and fall,”Olsen said. “They might not be able to physically be here, but they are welcome and encouraged to take classes in remote formats to start.”

Stanley also announced a freeze on tuition for the coming academic year, except for the College of Law.

Some summer school students may find the transition to all digital classes easy, while others may be challenged by it.

Darren Incorvaia, a 25 year old Ph.D candidate in the Department of Integrative Biology and member of the Graduate Employees Union at MSU, has been researching for his dissertation and working as a teaching assistant this spring. The upcoming virtual semester doesn’t worry him, but his circumstances are unique. He said, “Summer for me is mostly research-focused with some online teaching. The courses I help with over the summer are built to be online.”

For example, this semester, Incorvaia only taught a lecture with hundreds of students. He said that classes like these are much easier to move online than something like a lab or studio art class.

His workload increased, he said, but the digital tools available to him made the transition to online simple. “It’s involved setting up assignments, doing online exams, helping with Zoom lectures,” explained Incorvaia. Apps like Zoom and MSU’s online learning service, Desire 2 Learn, provide nearly everything needed to run an online lecture.

For his colleagues, though, Incorvaia acknowledged that a virtual semester could potentially pose a problem. “I do expect many other students and instructors to struggle with courses that are supposed to meet in person now being online,” said Incorvaia. “Summer courses are already a lot more intense and jam-packed.”

Because they are shorter than a typical semester — 6 weeks as opposed to 12 — the summer semester is, by definition, more dense and fast-paced. Incorvaia said that he’s worried “online learning fatigue” will set in.

Asked if the university has been fair to students, Incorvaia said, “I feel they could be doing more to support them.” He noted that MSU set up a fund to support undergraduate students using money from the CARES Act, but this money has been unavailable to him and his fellow grad students. Incorvaia also pointed out that he has yet to hear any concrete plans for issuing tuition and housing refunds to students.

“Additionally, I think MSU should have released guidelines for instructors to be more lenient in their classes,” added Incorvaia. “Students have enough to worry about without being super stressed about grades.”

Issy Smith, 21, a junior majoring in organic and sustainable horticulture, initially flailed when her five spring semester courses went online. Her grades took a hit. “I stopped doing homework. I stopped doing it for a week and a half, and then I realized that I couldn’t recover.” Smith said that she thrives off face-to-face interaction with her professors — most of her courses take place in intimate classroom settings, not lecture halls — so it’s been harder for her to focus in online classes and harder to connect to the material.

In Smith’s largest course, her professor has complained about this aspect of Zoom, too. It’s impersonal. “The class is too big for everyone to do a video call,” explained Smith. “My professor is constantly asking if she’s going too fast or too slow or if the material is even interesting to us.”

After spending the past month and a half in endless Zoom classes, Smith feels like she has finally found her footing. “I think I'll be more used to it in the summer. It’ll only have one class instead of five, so I won’t have to spend all my time in front of the computer,” she said.

Smith seemed mainly unconcerned about the summer semester. However, the mystery of whether or not MSU will open its doors this fall tortures her. “I just want them to tell me!” she exclaimed.

Regardless of whether her classes are in-person or online, Smith is going forward with her plan to graduate. She said, “I’m taking thirteen credits in the fall and graduating in December no matter what.”

As for Incorvaia, he remains unsure of the future, though he has a prediction about the fall semester: “I expect we’ll be fully virtual.” He said that he hopes that MSU reduces tuition for online classes, considering “there is no way that students are gaining the same levels of knowledge and understanding in courses that were moved online.”

That being said, Incorvaia hopes that the school will also increase the amount of financial support it is providing for students, especially if they continue to hold classes online. According to him, the GEU has been in near-constant contact with the university for the past few months.

As of now, they’re trying to set up a student aid fund for graduate students, get students refunds on gym memberships and parking passes and also figure out how their healthcare plans operate now that everything runs online. In addition, some graduate students are facing complete stoppages of productivity on their research, adding extra stress to their already busy workload.

Members of the GEU have been communicating about their shared issues and concerns over Zoom, Slack and WhatsApp, trying the best they can to stay connected over the internet and provide support for each other. Incorvaia expressed uncertainty about his and his colleagues’ future, but he’s holding onto hope that solidarity will get them through this crisis.

“Many of us in the GEU feel inspired by how many grad students have stepped up and stayed involved in order to help the most vulnerable among us,” said Incorvaia. “Though we are facing many challenges, we feel hopeful going forward that we will be able to address them together.”

Students at MSU prepare for an all-virtual summer semester

Administration still pondering what to do in the fall

 

By COLE TUNNINGLEY

WEDNESDAY, April 22 — Students at Michigan State University have another semester of Zoom classes, online quizzes and PDF textbooks to look forward to. On April 2, the university announced that its summer semester would be taught entirely online, only three weeks after it was forced to transfer the spring semester’s in-person courses to the web.

As for the fall semester, MSU is looking at a range of possibilities.

“We have not made a final determination on fall semester yet but we are planning for all scenarios,” said spokesman Dan Olsen, from “a continuation of distanced learning, a combination of in person and distanced learning, and students returning to campus in the fall.”

The university has had to adjust its budget to make up for losses caused by the coronavirus outbreak. In a letter to all faculty and staff, President Samuel Stanley announced that MSU executives would take pay cuts ranging from 2% to 7% through May or June “but possibly a full year.” Stanley himself is taking a 10% reduction.

In this letter, Stanley also announced that some MSU construction and remodeling projects would be postponed or delayed. In addition, MSU plans to reduce travel and other discretionary expenditures.

According to CollegeFactual.com, international students make up over 13 percent of MSU’s student body. With travel restrictions and President Donald Trump’s recent announcement of a comprehensive 60-day ban on immigration, MSU is expecting to see fewer international students enrolling next school year.

 “MSU is encouraging and accommodating international students who want to start out online with us this summer and fall,”Olsen said. “They might not be able to physically be here, but they are welcome and encouraged to take classes in remote formats to start.”

Stanley also announced a freeze on tuition for the coming academic year, except for the College of Law.

Some summer school students may find the transition to all digital classes easy, while others may be challenged by it.

Darren Incorvaia, a 25 year old Ph.D candidate in the Department of Integrative Biology and member of the Graduate Employees Union at MSU, has been researching for his dissertation and working as a teaching assistant this spring. The upcoming virtual semester doesn’t worry him, but his circumstances are unique. He said, “Summer for me is mostly research-focused with some online teaching. The courses I help with over the summer are built to be online.”

For example, this semester, Incorvaia only taught a lecture with hundreds of students. He said that classes like these are much easier to move online than something like a lab or studio art class.

His workload increased, he said, but the digital tools available to him made the transition to online simple. “It’s involved setting up assignments, doing online exams, helping with Zoom lectures,” explained Incorvaia. Apps like Zoom and MSU’s online learning service, Desire 2 Learn, provide nearly everything needed to run an online lecture.

For his colleagues, though, Incorvaia acknowledged that a virtual semester could potentially pose a problem. “I do expect many other students and instructors to struggle with courses that are supposed to meet in person now being online,” said Incorvaia. “Summer courses are already a lot more intense and jam-packed.”

Because they are shorter than a typical semester — 6 weeks as opposed to 12 — the summer semester is, by definition, more dense and fast-paced. Incorvaia said that he’s worried “online learning fatigue” will set in.

Asked if the university has been fair to students, Incorvaia said, “I feel they could be doing more to support them.” He noted that MSU set up a fund to support undergraduate students using money from the CARES Act, but this money has been unavailable to him and his fellow grad students. Incorvaia also pointed out that he has yet to hear any concrete plans for issuing tuition and housing refunds to students.

“Additionally, I think MSU should have released guidelines for instructors to be more lenient in their classes,” added Incorvaia. “Students have enough to worry about without being super stressed about grades.”

Issy Smith, 21, a junior majoring in organic and sustainable horticulture, initially flailed when her five spring semester courses went online. Her grades took a hit. “I stopped doing homework. I stopped doing it for a week and a half, and then I realized that I couldn’t recover.” Smith said that she thrives off face-to-face interaction with her professors — most of her courses take place in intimate classroom settings, not lecture halls — so it’s been harder for her to focus in online classes and harder to connect to the material.

In Smith’s largest course, her professor has complained about this aspect of Zoom, too. It’s impersonal. “The class is too big for everyone to do a video call,” explained Smith. “My professor is constantly asking if she’s going too fast or too slow or if the material is even interesting to us.”

After spending the past month and a half in endless Zoom classes, Smith feels like she has finally found her footing. “I think I'll be more used to it in the summer. It’ll only have one class instead of five, so I won’t have to spend all my time in front of the computer,” she said.

Smith seemed mainly unconcerned about the summer semester. However, the mystery of whether or not MSU will open its doors this fall tortures her. “I just want them to tell me!” she exclaimed.

Regardless of whether her classes are in-person or online, Smith is going forward with her plan to graduate. She said, “I’m taking thirteen credits in the fall and graduating in December no matter what.”

As for Incorvaia, he remains unsure of the future, though he has a prediction about the fall semester: “I expect we’ll be fully virtual.” He said that he hopes that MSU reduces tuition for online classes, considering “there is no way that students are gaining the same levels of knowledge and understanding in courses that were moved online.”

That being said, Incorvaia hopes that the school will also increase the amount of financial support it is providing for students, especially if they continue to hold classes online. According to him, the GEU has been in near-constant contact with the university for the past few months.

As of now, they’re trying to set up a student aid fund for graduate students, get students refunds on gym memberships and parking passes and also figure out how their healthcare plans operate now that everything runs online. In addition, some graduate students are facing complete stoppages of productivity on their research, adding extra stress to their already busy workload.

Members of the GEU have been communicating about their shared issues and concerns over Zoom, Slack and WhatsApp, trying the best they can to stay connected over the internet and provide support for each other. Incorvaia expressed uncertainty about his and his colleagues’ future, but he’s holding onto hope that solidarity will get them through this crisis.

“Many of us in the GEU feel inspired by how many grad students have stepped up and stayed involved in order to help the most vulnerable among us,” said Incorvaia. “Though we are facing many challenges, we feel hopeful going forward that we will be able to address them together.”

Students at MSU prepare for an all-virtual summer semester

Administration still pondering what to do in the fall

 

By COLE TUNNINGLEY

WEDNESDAY, April 22 — Students at Michigan State University have another semester of Zoom classes, online quizzes and PDF textbooks to look forward to. On April 2, the university announced that its summer semester would be taught entirely online, only three weeks after it was forced to transfer the spring semester’s in-person courses to the web.

As for the fall semester, MSU is looking at a range of possibilities.

“We have not made a final determination on fall semester yet but we are planning for all scenarios,” said spokesman Dan Olsen, from “a continuation of distanced learning, a combination of in person and distanced learning, and students returning to campus in the fall.”

The university has had to adjust its budget to make up for losses caused by the coronavirus outbreak. In a letter to all faculty and staff, President Samuel Stanley announced that MSU executives would take pay cuts ranging from 2% to 7% through May or June “but possibly a full year.” Stanley himself is taking a 10% reduction.

In this letter, Stanley also announced that some MSU construction and remodeling projects would be postponed or delayed. In addition, MSU plans to reduce travel and other discretionary expenditures.

According to CollegeFactual.com, international students make up over 13 percent of MSU’s student body. With travel restrictions and President Donald Trump’s recent announcement of a comprehensive 60-day ban on immigration, MSU is expecting to see fewer international students enrolling next school year.

 “MSU is encouraging and accommodating international students who want to start out online with us this summer and fall,”Olsen said. “They might not be able to physically be here, but they are welcome and encouraged to take classes in remote formats to start.”

Stanley also announced a freeze on tuition for the coming academic year, except for the College of Law.

Some summer school students may find the transition to all digital classes easy, while others may be challenged by it.

Darren Incorvaia, a 25 year old Ph.D candidate in the Department of Integrative Biology and member of the Graduate Employees Union at MSU, has been researching for his dissertation and working as a teaching assistant this spring. The upcoming virtual semester doesn’t worry him, but his circumstances are unique. He said, “Summer for me is mostly research-focused with some online teaching. The courses I help with over the summer are built to be online.”

For example, this semester, Incorvaia only taught a lecture with hundreds of students. He said that classes like these are much easier to move online than something like a lab or studio art class.

His workload increased, he said, but the digital tools available to him made the transition to online simple. “It’s involved setting up assignments, doing online exams, helping with Zoom lectures,” explained Incorvaia. Apps like Zoom and MSU’s online learning service, Desire 2 Learn, provide nearly everything needed to run an online lecture.

For his colleagues, though, Incorvaia acknowledged that a virtual semester could potentially pose a problem. “I do expect many other students and instructors to struggle with courses that are supposed to meet in person now being online,” said Incorvaia. “Summer courses are already a lot more intense and jam-packed.”

Because they are shorter than a typical semester — 6 weeks as opposed to 12 — the summer semester is, by definition, more dense and fast-paced. Incorvaia said that he’s worried “online learning fatigue” will set in.

Asked if the university has been fair to students, Incorvaia said, “I feel they could be doing more to support them.” He noted that MSU set up a fund to support undergraduate students using money from the CARES Act, but this money has been unavailable to him and his fellow grad students. Incorvaia also pointed out that he has yet to hear any concrete plans for issuing tuition and housing refunds to students.

“Additionally, I think MSU should have released guidelines for instructors to be more lenient in their classes,” added Incorvaia. “Students have enough to worry about without being super stressed about grades.”

Issy Smith, 21, a junior majoring in organic and sustainable horticulture, initially flailed when her five spring semester courses went online. Her grades took a hit. “I stopped doing homework. I stopped doing it for a week and a half, and then I realized that I couldn’t recover.” Smith said that she thrives off face-to-face interaction with her professors — most of her courses take place in intimate classroom settings, not lecture halls — so it’s been harder for her to focus in online classes and harder to connect to the material.

In Smith’s largest course, her professor has complained about this aspect of Zoom, too. It’s impersonal. “The class is too big for everyone to do a video call,” explained Smith. “My professor is constantly asking if she’s going too fast or too slow or if the material is even interesting to us.”

After spending the past month and a half in endless Zoom classes, Smith feels like she has finally found her footing. “I think I'll be more used to it in the summer. It’ll only have one class instead of five, so I won’t have to spend all my time in front of the computer,” she said.

Smith seemed mainly unconcerned about the summer semester. However, the mystery of whether or not MSU will open its doors this fall tortures her. “I just want them to tell me!” she exclaimed.

Regardless of whether her classes are in-person or online, Smith is going forward with her plan to graduate. She said, “I’m taking thirteen credits in the fall and graduating in December no matter what.”

As for Incorvaia, he remains unsure of the future, though he has a prediction about the fall semester: “I expect we’ll be fully virtual.” He said that he hopes that MSU reduces tuition for online classes, considering “there is no way that students are gaining the same levels of knowledge and understanding in courses that were moved online.”

That being said, Incorvaia hopes that the school will also increase the amount of financial support it is providing for students, especially if they continue to hold classes online. According to him, the GEU has been in near-constant contact with the university for the past few months.

As of now, they’re trying to set up a student aid fund for graduate students, get students refunds on gym memberships and parking passes and also figure out how their healthcare plans operate now that everything runs online. In addition, some graduate students are facing complete stoppages of productivity on their research, adding extra stress to their already busy workload.

Members of the GEU have been communicating about their shared issues and concerns over Zoom, Slack and WhatsApp, trying the best they can to stay connected over the internet and provide support for each other. Incorvaia expressed uncertainty about his and his colleagues’ future, but he’s holding onto hope that solidarity will get them through this crisis.

“Many of us in the GEU feel inspired by how many grad students have stepped up and stayed involved in order to help the most vulnerable among us,” said Incorvaia. “Though we are facing many challenges, we feel hopeful going forward that we will be able to address them together.”

Comments

No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here




Connect with us