There have been many mixed feelings about the transition back to campus, from students and faculty.
When speaking with one student, Jaliyah White, she said, “Honestly, learning in this format is extremely weird. To some extent, I would even say that it’s barely learning because everyone, including the professor and the other faculty, is trying to adjust to a learning format that works for everyone. It feels like with all the adjusting and the conflicts that have come up from learning during this pandemic, the focus on learning material is lost. It just feels like I’m doing stuff for a grade rather than understanding what I’m learning.” Another concern of students is coming to a safe campus.
There have been a few positive cases of COVID-19 on campus, even with the #CampusClear App. Another student, Xitlaly Jaquez, has expressed the concern of how accurate the app is, “There should have been other safe ways for everyone. I know it’s not a big campus, but people can lie using the #CampusClear app, and say they are fine when maybe they are not.”
Laurie M. Joyner, Ph.D, President of Saint Xavier University was asked how the University chose its learning format for this semester. “Our decisions were informed by listening to the voices, preferences, and concerns of our students, faculty, and staff this summer. Our priorities have been consistent throughout the pandemic to protect the health and safety of the community, and ensure continuity of our educational offerings for students.”
Joyner added that the university worked diligently over the summer to prepare for its students’ safe return. “I am grateful for the work of the Emergency Management Team. This summer, the group shifted from Emergency Management to focus on our return to campus late summer and this fall. Spearheaded by the Faculty Senate and inclusive of representation from across the University, the Return to Campus Task Force identified how various units across the University were preparing for the fall semester and researched best practice approaches under consideration at other colleges universities throughout the country. The Task Force designed a survey to elicit student feedback regarding their observations about the spring term experience and the academic delivery modalities they felt would best meet their needs.”
Joyner continued, “Our academic deans worked closely with each faculty member to ensure that they were comfortable with their delivery mechanism courses. Throughout the summer, the Student Life and University Relations teams conducted various student focus group sessions. We also held several town hall meetings and webinars and met with the Student Government Association leadership. All the plans were guided by understanding our students’ needs, grounded in best practice applications of health and safety protocols. During these unprecedented times, we asked all students, faculty, and staff to remain flexible and to be prepared to pivot to fully remote learning if necessary.”
Joyner adds that the institution is ”…working from the Task Force recommendations. Return to Campus Implementation Team then took the lead to make sure we acquired the necessary supplies and equipment, continued to build the University’s extensive community communications plan, and fully prepared to welcome students back to class, whatever the preferred learning format. All planning and implementation teams have followed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH). Following our successful start, the Operations Continuity Team is now in place to continually monitor and adjust our practices accordingly. Like the rest of the campus, the planning and implementation functions are dynamic and shift as we adapt to conditions on campus and in the surrounding community.”
This format, both hybrid or fully online, will most likely continue next semester. However, students have received a survey asking if they would like to have their schedule entirely online or continuing with the hybrid format. Joyner says that in her opinion, “Our return to campus has gone much smoother than I would have anticipated. We have been blessed with strong compliance behaviors and relatively few positive cases or exposures impacting campus to date. Since the beginning of the pandemic, we have had talented and dedicated faculty and staff working on our plans. They have done a fantastic job preparing our campus community to work together while minimizing the health risks as much as possible.”