Some IU students feel uncertain about IU's ability to transition to online classes, where they will stay after spring break and how their grades will be affected by taking classes online after IU announced Tuesday it would cancel all in-person classes from March 23 to April 5 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Classes will be taken online for those two weeks, according to IU President Michael McRobbie’s statement. McRobbie encouraged students to travel home for the two weeks and stay away from campus. Some students are skeptical about how IU would accommodate classes that require in-person activities, but IU said it's looking into it.
Residential Programs and Services announced on Twitter all residence halls and dining options will stay open during both spring break and the two weeks of online classes.
Students on social media questioned IU’s ability to transition classes online so quickly and said they were concerned about the difficulty of taking classes online. Others said they were looking forward to a “3-week spring break.”
One Twitter user asked IU how their ceramics class would be completed online. The university responded to the tweet saying it’s looking into it.
Students were seen packing their cars with belongings outside Wright Quad and Read Center on Wednesday afternoon.
IU freshman and Read resident Saylor Dickerson said she is going home to Mooresville, Indiana, for the three weeks and will try to work at her job at a golf course there.
“I originally thought that it’s a virus in another country far away,” Dickerson said. “The school closing definitely makes it feel more real.”
Dickerson said she understands the university’s position and thinks it’s a smart decision, but she also thinks students with hands-on majors will have trouble adapting to the online classes. She said she's worried about taking her classes online.
“Having that face-to-face with an instructor can just completely change the way you learn,” Dickerson said.
IU sophomore and Campus View Apartments resident Dan Li said she is staying on campus over the next three weeks and does not plan to go home until the end of the semester. She said she thought it was a good idea for IU to do online classes.
“We don’t know if it will break out and become an epidemic here,” Li said.
Li said she is concerned about the virus spreading in the United States but is more worried about her family in China.
IU freshman and Wright resident Jackson Christman said he was surprised IU canceled face-to-face classes.
“I thought it would blow over,” Christman said. “I think it’s all precautionary.”
IU senior and Wright resident Olive Rusk said she is going to Miami for spring break but doesn’t know where she will go after. Rusk works for RPS and said she still hasn't been told if she will be working during the two weeks of online classes.
“It’s causing more problems than solutions right now, but it makes the most sense,” Rusk said, referring to IU classes going online.
Rusk said she doesn't feel very concerned about the COVID-19 outbreak because she thinks IU is taking the proper precautions to keep students safe.
