LBCC instructors should be less strict on deadlines and assignments to give students a chance to succeed during online learning. Some students attending online classes have challenges that can prevent them from paying attention or submitting assignments on time. Instructors also have the challenge to be more lenient with their students during online classes, to help them succeed and adjust to their schedule.
There are students who are currently struggling trying to adjust to the online system, and if teachers aren’t able to be less strict with deadlines, it could hurt the students’ grade heavily.
Distractions often occur within online classes and the household, so instructors have to adjust to being more acceptable and forgiving. It doesn’t need to be all the time, but when those times occur, there can be a few adjustments arranged to ensure the student is still able to complete work or focus on the task.
Some students might have no private working environment, so their workspace is filled with constant distractions. There can be other people over in your house during class time, which can affect your ability to listen if the distractions are too loud.
It’s not just the work environment that students have difficulty dealing with, it can also be the lack of resources available during remote learning. For example, a college student can be paying full tuition to attend in-person classes, and with the pandemic, they’re still paying the same amount. However, they don’t have immediate access to resources, such as raising your hand for help, or talking to an instructor during their office hours, which some students rely on.
Students also often refer to the library for help or for a quiet location, and without that access, it makes it more difficult for students that rely on the library. They might have gone to the library to use the computers and printers that they don’t have at home. Without that, it hurts the students’ opportunity to have a reliable resource and makes it difficult for them to submit assignments.
Even though it is made clear that teachers will have office hours for any questions if necessary, some of those students don’t find it useful because they prefer being shown and taught lessons in-person rather than through screen-sharing.
Teachers should also limit assignments during online classes because it can be too much or students don’t have the time to complete it because they have other priorities. This especially affects students who are taking multiple classes, because having that much school work while trying to balance your lifestyle can cause stress for some.
According to an NY Times article, What Students Are Saying About Remote Learning, a student gives their input about the amount of work in online schools, stating that “the workload is overwhelming.” Another student from the article also implies that “it would be nice to have a teacher that could answer my questions and help me in person,” meaning that they also prefer being helped in person, another reason why teachers should be lenient with their standards.
Students are already dropping out in large numbers since COVID-19. According to USA Today, enrollment for colleges is down 8% due to COVID-19, a number mostly made up of returning students rather than first-year students. This is significant because the students who are already past their first year are not attending due to COVID-19 and online classes.
Even for students who thought they would continue attending college via online, some have changed their mind about attending or continuing still. According to insightintodiversity.com, nearly 100,000 fewer high school seniors have applied for FAFSA than before COVID-19, and students whose families with incomes under $75,000 a year are “nearly twice as likely to say they canceled their plans to take classes this fall, compared to students from families with incomes over $100,000.”
This significant decrease in college enrollment demonstrates how college students aren’t adjusting and coping to their instructors’ standards.
Considering the many challenges students are experiencing throughout the pandemic, deadlines to drop classes should also be extended so that students don’t get a “W” on their transcripts. Teachers should be more lenient on this because with the online teaching system, it may not be what the student expected from the class, so they’re having second thoughts about the class overall. While the instructor may not agree with the standards, they should at least try everything they can to help their students be successful.
Those who are attending online classes know the feeling of stress or discomfort because of what is going on with themselves and their life as well. With this, teachers and instructors should be more reasonable and forgiving with students during online classes, as unexpected events can occur throughout.