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California colleges and universities should permanently adopt policies that were put in place to better support students during the pandemic. These practices can help students graduate more quickly, lessening debt loads and making students eligible more quickly for higher paying work.
Some of the biggest differences these pandemic-inspired changes made for students were immediate: They did not have to commute to campus or search endlessly for parking. Access to support wherever, whenever and however they could find it allowed students to do all they need to in their busy lives and still be successful students.
For example, Rachelle Blanco, 27, a transfer student and receptionist, found the recorded lectures beneficial. “If you’re driving, and you wanted to listen to a lecture to internalize what’s being taught, I think it’s super good, so I really like that,” she said.
Colleges and universities that serve large numbers of low-income students need to accommodate the varied lives of our students, and that requires truly understanding the demands and structures of their lives. Decades of research shows that low-income students often are also caring for younger siblings, elders, or their own children; working additional jobs to help their families and pay their way through school; and, in some cases, commuting long distances to campus.
Post-pandemic, it is likely that many more students who were previously not low-income will experience financial strain because of family job losses. Flexibility from our universities is key to their academic success and well-being.
About one-third of all college students in the United States were Pell Grant recipients, a proxy for low-income status, in 2018-2019. Some 13% of students in the 23-campus California State University System were Pell Grant recipients that same academic year, and they received degrees at half the rate of their non-Pell recipient peers. Sixty-five percent of the more than 2 million students enrolled in 116 campus system of the California Community Colleges is “economically disadvantaged.”
When the state declared a pandemic in March 2020, California State University, East Bay, which serves the entire East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area and enrolls many low-income students, shifted quickly to offering more classes online. This included both classes offered in real time and courses that allowed students to work at their own pace. The campus also shifted online students services such as advising and tutoring services.
While the changes did not work wholly for all students, the effect of moving the classes and services online was positive. Many of the student workers I supervise were able to maintain their academic focus, meet more regularly with their faculty, and work on campus while still being able to take care of themselves and their families.
Mirna Maamou, a senator with CSU, East Bay’s student government body, Associated Students, Inc., said the students had shared with new college president, Cathy Sandeen, a list of things they would like the university to continue going forward, including:
Regarding the office hours, she said: “I can’t just type one question in an email. It has to be a discussion. It has to be back and forth. You have to explain the concept to me. So this email thing; it’s not helpful to me.”
The Associated Students board of directors also would like the campus to increase capacity for lower-division courses by adding courses online so that students can progress to their major coursework without being delayed because a course they need fills up quickly. Implementing this suggestion could have an immediate effect on graduation rates by decreasing the time to degree for students.
To be sure, in-person teaching and face-to-face meetings with faculty, staff and other students shouldn’t go away. Indeed, the majority of students prefer being on campus and in community with each other. They miss being on campus, and we miss them, too.
However, keeping some of the innovations from the pandemic, even in a limited way, might allow us to reach students who just aren’t able to always get to campus during normal hours, but still need our help.
The pandemic has shown that large state institutions can pivot quickly and be radically flexible. More of that radical flexibility is needed in higher education to help students achieve their educational and career goals.
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Shonda L. Goward is director of the Student Center for Academic Achievement at California State University, East Bay, in Hayward. She is a California Education Policy Fellow.
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el 3 years ago3 years ago
Expanded availability of essential courses online is extremely positive for ensuring students have access to the required coursework. In-person attendance is the core of a university, but for students who are comfortable working remote, the lessons learned during this pandemic can expand opportunities. Recorded lectures let students review the material multiple times for better understanding, and also provide better access for students who have health issues or emergencies during the semester. Online courses also potentially … Read More
Expanded availability of essential courses online is extremely positive for ensuring students have access to the required coursework. In-person attendance is the core of a university, but for students who are comfortable working remote, the lessons learned during this pandemic can expand opportunities. Recorded lectures let students review the material multiple times for better understanding, and also provide better access for students who have health issues or emergencies during the semester.
Online courses also potentially create expanded academic opportunities – for example for offering a course across the entire CSU or community college system, and potentially also easing the transfer challenges between the community college and 4 year systems. I hope lessons learned during this time will create a best of both worlds where students have better access to the courses and instruction they need to excel.