By Sharif Hodges
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
With Towson University’s fall semester offering fully online classes, seniors have mixed feelings about synchronous courses that tie them to Zoom, Blackboard Collaborate Ultra and WebEx.
“Online learning isn’t too bad but sometimes it gets annoying when assignments get lost and there’s things I can’t find,” said psychology major Kylon Lymon.
While Lymon apparently has adjusted, others seniors outright hate the idea of spending their last semester in this way.
“Classes being remote has definitely been an adjustment for me,” said Ashley Hale, a Mass Communication major. “Part of me wishes that I took a semester off until [it] got back to normal, because online school isn’t the best way for me to learn.”
COVID-19 has shutdown the majority of college classes across the nation. Towson students were forced to move out of campus housing and back home when the dreaded pandemic first appeared in early March. Campus officials spent the entire summer preparing for partial or hybrid classroom use but were forced to shutdown campus shortly before classes started in late August when the positivity rates of students increased.
Lymon and other students attend so-called synchronous classes, which gather students online for instructions and lectures by a professor. Some courses offer a combination of sessions that are synchronous and nonsynchronous, which enable students to complete assignments on their own.
Despite the views of students, some professors said there were little differences in the quality of work being turned in because of online classes.
“So far, the semester has been going well,” said Towson University Mass Communications professor Jenny Atwater. “I like to think that we all had a ‘trial run’ with online learning in the spring, and now professors and students are more prepared for the online environment.”
Other professors openly worry about the job market students will find after graduation.
“I have sensed that things in the world feel more precarious and that is causing some reluctance to begin applying for jobs,” said Professor Kalima Young, who teaches Electronic Media and Film.
Now that graduation is approaching. Towson officials are struggling to decide how to execute the commencement.
“TU surveyed the graduates impacted by the postponement,” said Sean Welsh, interim vice president of University Marketing and Communication. “Based on the overwhelming results from surveying these graduates, TU will be moving forward with plans for commencement in spring 2021 for 2020 graduates, rather than a virtual ceremony this fall.”
Welsh also discussed the disappointment of faculty and staff.
“While we are incredibly disappointed that we have been unable to honor our most recent graduates in person, we look forward to being able to celebrate as soon as it is safe to do so,” Welsh said.
Despite future graduation plans, some Towson students still are dissatisfied.
“I haven’t had to delay graduation because of COVID-19, but it’s kind of made graduation less exciting,” Lymon acknowledged.
The disappointments have not negatively impacted graduation rates at Towson, however.
Officials brag that graduation rates have only risen and even continued to rise last year as students were faced with the unexpected arrival of virtual classes. University statistics showed that 4,701 students have graduated with a bachelor’s degree in the 2019-2020 school year. This number is 81 more students than last year’s figure of 4,619.