ALLENDALE, Mich. — Students filtered out of Grand Valley State's campus Thursday, preparing for online classes that will last at least a couple weeks.
"I'm packing my stuff up for a month," said Hannah Barton, a junior from the east side of the state. "There are so many questions I have, but I'm just kind of taking it day by day."
Joining universities nationwide, Grand Valley canceled all face-to-face classes until March 15 and will move to online classes from March 16-29. The university is encouraging all students to return to their permanent residences.
"Campus housing is going to be available for the students that want to stay for whatever reason," President Philomena Mantella said. "They may have too far a distance to travel or a visa concern, so we're going to be highly sensitive."
Students relying on work study jobs will have opportunities to work remotely, and GVSU will work on solutions with students for whom that's not possible, Mantella said.
Everyone is anxious right now, said Professor James Dunn, who has taught biology at the university for over 20 years.
"There are some that have taught online classes," Dunn said. "I would assume they're very good at it, but for the most of us, we do in-classroom teaching and field labs. There's big learning curve, so it's going to take a little while."
Some of these classes will be a challenge to take online, Barton said.
"One of my classes is painting, and the professor said we're going to have to just take pictures, but even things he tells us could be wrong if the lighting is off " she said. "It's going to be really difficult."
Faculty members have been participating in training sessions for online course delivery. A good portion already has some experience, Mantella said.
"[We] trust them to understand their discipline, the pedagogy and where they are in the curriculum to create the best plan," she said. "I have every confidence they will rise to that challenge."
Students deserve the fullest experience, and putting parameters on that creates a level of constrain, Mantella said.
"I wish I had that crystal ball," she said. "We want that lifted as soon as it's in our public interest to lift it."
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