Students left uncertain as universities opt to start new year with online classes

In September 2021, after months of remote learning, post-secondary students across North America made a triumphant return to campus. The mere idea of physically sitting with others in a classroom again made even the most uninitiated students giddy with excitement.

Mask mandates and social distancing protocols aside, simply being on campus again was enough to give students the feeling that things were going to be ok. For a while, it appeared as though academia was well on its way to making a full recovery back to pre-pandemic times. That is, until recently, when the latest COVID-19 variant, Omicron, hit the scene.

In the lead up to winter break, post-secondary institutions reformulated their plans for when students (should) return to campus in January. While some have deemed the situation safe enough for in-person learning, many have opted instead to revert to online classes, at least for the time being.

As Inside Higher Ed reports, Harvard, Stanford, and DePaul have all announced that the first couple weeks of school will take place online, with many others considering doing the same.

In a news release, Stanford justified the decision by saying, "We anticipate this two-week period of online instruction will allow students to settle in, get booster doses and navigate any health issues without the concern of missing the beginning of classes."

In Canada, the University of British Columbia announced on Wednesday that it, too, would be temporarily moving a majority of classes online when instruction resumes in January. The only exceptions made are for those which include "clinical or other experiential, performance or studio components."

UBC officials suggest that their "intention is to enable a safe return to fully in-person learning and instruction on January 24," however they note that they have learned from the pandemic thus far the "need to be nimble and prepared to change our course" if necessary.

The decision to move classes online is justified as being in the interest of public safety, however the latest data suggests Omicron, while far more transmissible than Delta, is quite mild in comparison, especially among young, healthy populations such as those who attend university.

There has been mixed reaction among those impacted. Social aspects of campus aside, many students are fed up with potentially having to pay in-person tuition fees for an online experience, and losing out on valuable face to face exchanges. Others, however, feel that spending a couple weeks online is worth it if it can prevent more cases occurring on campus.

When news of the new variant broke, many students called for final exams to be moved online. Those calls were, for the most part dismissed. Now, those students are applauding their institutions for making what they say is the right call by temporarily moving things online in January.

For universities and colleges, balancing the need for in-person schooling with their duty to protect the health of students and faculty has not been easy, and it has been nearly impossible to create a plan that will make everyone happy.