Like many colleges and universities, the University of North Texas began online instruction Monday after cancelling all in-person classes last week due to the spread of the coronavirus.
Student government association vice president Deana Ayers said she wishes the university had given students more time to prepare.
"I know that a lot of my peers and classmates right now are struggling with how they're going to meet the deadlines for all of these assignments and group projects and exams, while also figuring out whether or not they will be able to afford rent and how they are going to move home during this crisis," Ayers said. "So I would love to see the university implement a more lenient grading system to go along with this abrupt transition into online-only education."
Students aren't the only ones affected by the campus shutdown. Professors are also working from home.
Jacqueline Ryan Vickery, a media arts associate professor, says the shift to online classes is difficult. She'll miss the spontaneity of face-to-face interaction that she uses in her lessons.
"I tend to generate examples and concepts based on feedback from students in class, and that's much harder to do online," Vickery said. "So, I've had to rely on film examples, media examples — I've had to create Power Points and slides."
Vickery added that the transition to online learning will likely slow other work professors do, like conducting research and hiring new faculty.
