College parents...fall semester?

[cmp3400]

I just checked my daughter's UF schedule. All of her classes that had room assignments, have now been changed to online. She is an incoming freshman.

I have been curious how this was going to actually play out--My DH teaches at (what used to be called a) Community College and my DS is attending a different Community College both in Florida and their classes are all online.

 

[mickey squared]

Exactly!! She is discussing with her roommate, who is her friend from HS.

 

[JimMIA]

Exactly!! She is discussing with her roommate, who is her friend from HS.

For us, taking online classes at home instead of on-campus is probably a $5,000+ savings. I think the dorm is $3,500 or so, plus food and other living expenses.

 

[mickey squared]

Yes, her tuition is free, just room and board we would have to pay for. We were just happy it was in-state price versus my son's hefty college bill, but....what type of experience would that be for her and others if they are quarantined in a dorm room to do online classes?

 

[JimMIA]

Yes, her tuition is free, just room and board we would have to pay for. We were just happy it was in-state price versus my son's hefty college bill, but....what type of experience would that be for her and others if they are quarantined in a dorm room to do online classes?

Tuition is free either way if you have either Florida prepaid or Bright Futures...whether she is taking online classes from home or in a dorm room. If it's another type of scholarship, you have to check the details.

 

[wishing4PA]

Yes, her tuition is free, just room and board we would have to pay for. We were just happy it was in-state price versus my son's hefty college bill, but....what type of experience would that be for her and others if they are quarantined in a dorm room to do online classes?

Just jumping back in here. As noted before, my kid is a couple years off from college, but I have some experience with remote working and also with somewhat remote classes in a branch campus.
For me, neither worked out well. The remote work I was able to keep up for many years, but eventually I lost it. After about a decade I was no longer feeling a part of the team, felt like I was losing touch with the institution, and I also lost some of my own motivation and became very depressed because I had hoped to move back, but the longer the remote thing went on, the less my DH felt we needed to move. And the money kept being spent on things other than being saved so we could move. Basically he didn't want to. So I was stuck telecommuting with no benefit other than a small amount of extra money that seemed to keep vanishing into keeping up a house I didn't want to be in. I also was diagnosed with ADD at that time, and focus became a real issue. The job required lots of mental strength that I just didn't have anymore.
Now that's not the same exact situation as college, but ... to succeed in college coursework, you have to remain focused on it day after day. You can't lose that motivation. If you are studying 18th Century France, you need to be able to put your whole mind into 18th Century France for hours on end, for days on end. You don't need to be wishing you were with your friends or taking long breaks downstairs with the family. If the family is extremely supportive of your work/schoolwork, then that helps, otherwise they will drag you out of that focus zone eventually and sabotage whatever focus you do have.
College friends can do that, too.
But ... college friends, roommates, classmates, who are all in the same boat, and limited in what socialization is available, could possibly be better at keeping each other on track with classwork than the family back home.
It's no guarantee, but if due to COVID-19 those who are at school actually help support each other in staying on track with assignments and focusing on the future, this might be a *good* time to be on campus, or in a nearby apartment. It's a professor's dream lol. Lots of students, all there to get an education and a degree.
That said, I did not find the remote learning branch college experience to be a great one. Some aspects were okay. But not all the labs worked out well delivered remotely. It just wasn't the same as hands-on.

 

[Colleen27]

So, what is everybody planning if the classes are almost all on-line? Keep their students home and do on-line? My DS just looked at his schedule and 4 out of 5 classes are on-line now. But most classes also have a "discussion" class that goes with the lectures, those still appear to be in person, but the room's are now pending.

Doesn't everybody wish they had a crystal ball? My DS's college is only two hours away and the college confirmed that if he tests positive, he would be advised to go home and quarantine, which means I will have to stay home and quarantine (and quite possible catch Covid from him) because my employer requires quarantine for everybody who lives in the house with someone who tests positive. Not sure about my DH's employer's policy. But he kept going to work through the whole thing, so I think his employer's policy is a bit more relaxed.

DD will be going back to campus no matter what. There's no way for her to participate in whatever elements are in person - whether that is whole classes or just lab sessions or something in between - while living at home, because her college is 2500 miles from here. And online learning from home was very hard on her just because we have six people under our roof, all with different schedules, and it made focus a daily challenge, so I would prefer she be in her dorm, surrounded by like-minded people with similar schedules and time constraints, because she finds it easier to succeed in that setting. But for her, there will be no back and forth either so I don't have to factor in the possibility of her exposing us or triggering any possible workplace restrictions that might be in place in the fall. If she is exposed, she'd quarantine in her own room and she won't come home until the semester is over.

 

[momto2girls]

DD will be going back to campus no matter what. There's no way for her to participate in whatever elements are in person - whether that is whole classes or just lab sessions or something in between - while living at home, because her college is 2500 miles from here. And online learning from home was very hard on her just because we have six people under our roof, all with different schedules, and it made focus a daily challenge, so I would prefer she be in her dorm, surrounded by like-minded people with similar schedules and time constraints, because she finds it easier to succeed in that setting. But for her, there will be no back and forth either so I don't have to factor in the possibility of her exposing us or triggering any possible workplace restrictions that might be in place in the fall. If she is exposed, she'd quarantine in her own room and she won't come home until the semester is over.

That's where we are too. DD is going to be living in the dorms next year unless the school closes them. Her school is actually an easy commute from our house, but I feel like she really needs to be in the college environment for her mental health. Even if she is taking online classes (so far her classes are still supposedly going to be in person), I think she would prefer to be in a dorm room.

In addition, I do not want her commuting and potentially bringing the virus home to us. DH, DD2 and I all work/school from home, so we can isolate really well here. DD1 would be our "leak", so she needs to stay at school or stay home-- no going back and forth.

 

[mjkacmom]

Yes, her tuition is free, just room and board we would have to pay for. We were just happy it was in-state price versus my son's hefty college bill, but....what type of experience would that be for her and others if they are quarantined in a dorm room to do online classes?

My daughter is a rising sophomore, she dealt with the online classes, what she hated was having to leave campus. At first they were told they were going home but would be coming back. She got the news that they weren’t going back as soon as she pulled onto our street. She cried for hours. She’s off campus in the fall, she‘d much rather be taking online classes at her university than at home.

 

[Southernmiss]

Our daughter has heard their university will be hybrid- some classes online, some in person.

She'll be on full scholarship, so we don't have the cost factors to weigh out.

She absolutely loves school and has been part of a Zoom 'summer camp' with professors from her major department these last few weeks.

She'll share a dorm with a roommate with their own bathroom.

We've drilled wear a mask, wash your hands, social distance, take your vitamins, get your sleep, all summer. I've been gathering masks all summer and will gather a few more and handsanitizer and wipes as I find them.

I anticipate her going and residing on campus. She'll be 5 hours away with a brother in an off campus apartment.

I feel pretty comfortable sending them off.

 

[Tinks]

I have an incoming freshman who will be attending an out-of-state university. We are weighing options now. The university has stated that classes will be in-person but spread out/more sessions/social distant etc. They have even put the incoming class into "cohorts" so the freshmen will be in groups and attend classes with the same group more or less??? Not sure how that's going to work.

I just have a gut feeling that everything will go online in Sept or Oct and we'll be stuck having paid OOS tuition for an online crappy semester. I feel like we can't win. Anyone have a crystal ball???

 

[AustinTink]

All my son's classes were switched to online for the fall. His friends had all theirs switched as well.

 

[lilypgirl]

As of right now my daughters mock schedule has 3 hybrid classes where they meet once a week and other days are online , 1 strictly face to face, and 1 completely online. She registers Monday so we will see if that changes. Even if they were all online she would still be living on campus. We/she wants as much of the freshmen experience as she can get at this point. It seems as though several of the big SEC schools are following similar reopening plans.

 

[JimMIA]

We/she wants as much of the freshmen experience as she can get at this point. It seems as though several of the big SEC schools are following similar reopening plans.

We want the same for our DD, but we have to make a decision by July 6 and there is little indication of what that "freshman experience" will actually be like. Her university is huge on school spirit and personal interaction and support for students (especially freshmen), but all that is looking pretty empty right now.

For example, we don't know yet about football, but the conference has announced no marching bands on field IF they have games. Also no cheerleaders. Her school has hundreds of clubs, some of which look really interesting -- but again, no guidance on whether or how they will function (except the normal blather about social distancing, etc). Same with social activities.

Another question mark is campus visits by parents, AND coming home for weekends (we're only 4 hours away). When the student body returns in the Fall, the campus will obviously be a petri dish for covid. So that makes us visiting campus pretty unlikely. And if she comes home, she brings risk with her and takes risk from here back to her roommates. A LOT of unanswerable questions at this point.

 

[leebee]

Well... we have been preparing for hybrid classes, the structure of which depends on classroom capacity (about 1/3 to 1/4 of normal) and enrollment. I'm working (as I type) on chem experiments that can be done from home, as there is an issue with airflow and virus spread; apparently it's funky in laboratories with functioning hoods. HOWEVER... the department secretary just said she fully expects that fall will be online and quite possibly also spring semester, that the whole year will be a bust... and you know that the person who knows the most, with the most reliable information, is usually the department secretary.

My niece will be a sophomore at Suffolk U in Boston. They only guarantee housing for freshmen and sophomores (school is basically ON Boston Common) normally, but she's been told that only freshmen will be given dorm housing due to distancing requirements. Upside of this? Suffolk has contracted with area hotels (within a 10 min walk of campus) for the sophomores to have single rooms in the hotels for the year- so she is psyched. However, she also learned that out-of-state students are required to arrive 14 days in advance to quarantine before the semester begins. I guess Massachusetts is taking no chances.

 

[lilypgirl]

We want the same for our DD, but we have to make a decision by July 6 and there is little indication of what that "freshman experience" will actually be like. Her university is huge on school spirit and personal interaction and support for students (especially freshmen), but all that is looking pretty empty right now.

For example, we don't know yet about football, but the conference has announced no marching bands on field IF they have games. Also no cheerleaders. Her school has hundreds of clubs, some of which look really interesting -- but again, no guidance on whether or how they will function (except the normal blather about social distancing, etc). Same with social activities.

Another question mark is campus visits by parents, AND coming home for weekends (we're only 4 hours away). When the student body returns in the Fall, the campus will obviously be a petri dish for covid. So that makes us visiting campus pretty unlikely. And if she comes home, she brings risk with her and takes risk from here back to her roommates. A LOT of unanswerable questions at this point.

If you don’t mind me asking what school?

 

[luvsvacation]

After reading through this thread yesterday I got curious as to wether any of my daughters classes have changed to online. She’s going to school in Illinois, which this week entered phase 4 and announced schools could be in person in the fall. I checked her schedule and sure enough one of her classes had changed to online. I told her about it and she switched to the same class with a different professor that is meeting traditionally. Again out of curiosity I started to check that particular professors other classes and his are all online. So I’m guessing the school gave the professors the choice?? Being that this is her first semester she doesn’t know any of them to have a preference so she was glad to switch.

 

[olwyngdh]

anyone whose kid is going to live on campus this upcoming term-any news on drastic changes to the move in process? asking b/c one of our big universities is making a point of getting students/parents aware that they MUST keep an eye out for updates on how the move-in process will occur b/c apparently it will in no way resemble prior years and will take place over a longer period of time.

University of Evansville is assigning families 3 hour blocks to move their kid into the dorms. Freshmen will be Aug 11 and 12 with freshman week the 13-16. Returning students will move in the 15th and 16, once again in the 3 hour blocks. Classes start Aug 17 and are a combination of in person and hybrid classes. My daughter has 2 hybrid and 4 in person classes (at this point) I am pretty sure her in person classes are because of the size--I can't imagine people lining up to get into Latin 1 and Greek 1.

 

[barkley]

i'll just suggest this-

if you have a returning college student whose classes are all on-line and the ONLY reason they are looking at going back to live on/near campus is b/c of the 'college experience'-i HIGHLY suggest that they do some research on weather what they enjoy about that experience will exist upon their return. at our local colleges-libraries closed (so are all the public ones), 'limited dining options' (college website terminology) means only 1 option-the institution type food that most if not all students pass on after their first few visits freshman year (and no salad bar, no pick and choose type meals-all prepackaged), student union is closed so no starbucks or other coffee place/no jamba juice, none of the movie nights/meet and greets/concerts/plays/comedy shows. if they are used to off campus venues/merchants as part of their experience-check to see if they are even in business any more. we've had allot of places go under or just choose not to reopen b/c they made their money during the academic year so losing part of winter quarter and then all of spring and summer with what's being anticipated at less than 30% of students returning for the fall on-line classes is a deal breaker. bars/clubs are hit and miss-with state laws on gatherings some are staying closed for the time being. no movie theaters, no concerts or plays and all community events (fairs, runs, festivals and such) are cancelled.

you have to dig around on the college websites to find out just how limited 'limited' means,
you have to google search your favorite off campus haunts to see if they still exist

 

[lilypgirl]

Here is an example of how my daughters university is handling some aspects of campus life.



Housing and Residential Communities (HRC)

• HRC will preserve students’ residence life in their “home away from home.”
• COVID will require some changes, especially social distancing in common areas such as building kitchens and laundry, non- visitors will be limited, PPE for staff, education, training, enhanced cleaning, and staggered move-in.
• Isolation spaces will be provided for any on-campus students who may need them. has had a designated location since March and will increase access as needed.
• Move-in will be staggered with distancing.

Student Groups and Greek Life

• Student Life will assist student organizations to use and plan for larger physical spaces, allowing for greater social distancing for face-to-face events and meetings.
• Campus dining, including Greek dining, will require adjustments to maintain distancing.
• Social events and group experiences, such as , career fairs, swaps, parties, and recruitment activities will be planned to preserve the experience, consistent with health and safety requirements.
• Student groups will be assisted in their own efforts to educate and train on health promotions, and to maintain required distancing and other safety protocols.
• Student groups will be expected to have social distancing and PPE plans, and must keep attendee lists to assist with exposure notification.

Student Services

• Critical services, such as the Career Center, Counseling Center, WGRC, and Student Health Center, will continue, with enhanced remote availability.
• Academic support services, to including tutoring and the writing center, will also continue, with enhanced remote options.
• University Recreation will be open, with enhanced distancing and cleaning.