Remote Learning... Forever?

A case on whether or not we should return to zoom learning

In the midst of the worldwide battle against COVID-19, many institutions of higher learning across the United States have attempted to bring back fully in-person studies for the fall 2021 semester with varying levels of success. These mixed results bring to mind one potentially dreaded question. Should Marist College implement remote learning...forever? 

Sophomore Carlos Vasquez said that he prefers in-person learning because of “the easier and more efficient communication [he] can have with [his] professors and classmates.” 

Gabriel Castillo-Sanchez, ‘24 said that he values the culture of in-person learning that got lost during the transition to remote schooling. 

“Learning in-person is more dynamic in the sense that students (including myself) are often more attentive and responsive, which makes learning that much better,” Castillo-Sanchez said.

In-person learning offers certain benefits to Marist students that Zoom cannot convey and provides an experience that Sanchez says is one “that online learning can not quite replicate”. Despite analyzing the benefits of in person learning ,we must not forget the positives that come with virtual learning. According to the University of Illinois Springfield, virtual learning provides personalized effective time management for students, improved accessibility for students who may be inconvenienced by in person learning and potentially saves certain costs of traveling, food, and shelter for college students across the country. 

So should Marist renounce virtual learning altogether? No. Then should Marist drop in person learning completely? Also no. Instead, Marist should focus on creating a more flexible learning model that attempts to make studying personalized and convenient for every student. Although a little over 40% of Marist’s post graduate programs and certificates have online options to them at the time of this writing, the same cannot be said for undergraduate coursework. With a divisive structure of having a couple of solely online sections per course and courses that are strictly in person, Marist would be wise to attempt to break down those walls of rigidity. Most undergraduate professors do not even offer a zoom option anymore when their class is in person. 

Marist can start to implement these sorts of changes by constructing more courses that can be followed equally both in-person and online and give the option for students to transition to either one if they so desire. With United States colleges and universities spending an estimated 16 billion dollars a year on technology according to Linkedin, one would hope that efficient plans on technological implementation would be made especially due to this country’s ongoing battle with various COVID-19 variants. This way if students have potential issues that require them to step away from an in-person course it does not mean that they have mountains of work to catch up on. So should Marist get rid of in person learning altogether? No. Instead Marist College should construct undergraduate courses with both in person and virtual components that suit the particular student at the time.