Students are struggling to keep up with classes during the condensed semester, and professors feel the pressure to deliver a quality product in a different format.
Over the summer, the university announced it would modify the fall semester schedule, moving finals to take place before Thanksgiving and having students not return after the holiday.
Richard Forgette, an associate provost and professor of political science, said that the university considered several options for the fall semester, and ultimately decided to hold finals before Thanksgiving because professors and students wanted to have the option of in-person exams.
“We approved the final fall 2020 schedule with faculty, student and staff input following the regular University governance process,” Forgette said.
When asked how the shortened semester was affecting them, students expressed high levels of fatigue.
“I’m behind on everything. I don’t know if that’s due to the accelerated semester, but I’m skipping classes to catch up much more than in the past. I don’t mind the no spring break because I don’t want people catching COVID, but maybe a few days off in the middle of the week wouldn’t be out of line,” Katie Williamson, a junior international studies major, said.
Evelyn Smith, a junior public policy leadership major, said she has felt very rushed and has been learning to “roll with the punches.”
Darren Grem, a professor of history and southern studies, and Tiffany Bensen, a biology professor, said they were still covering the major points in every section of their courses, but were losing some of the fun details.
Bensen, who is teaching hybrid and online classes, also said that she felt her students were struggling from the lack of in-person instruction.
“I think they’re having a hard time learning from the video,” Benson said. “I hear from some that they like the videos because they go at their own pace, stop to get all the notes they need or rewind for clarification, but I wonder if others just can’t get in the head space they need to be to learn effectively.”
Grem, who is teaching three remote classes, echoed a similar sentiment regarding in-person instruction.
“Overall, I liken teaching via Zoom to having to be a session musician in a studio. You show up on time, you make sure your gear works, you do your part, you play your script …” Grem said. “Teaching in person is like a live performance and, at the end of the day, that’s the style of teaching that gets me up in the morning.”
Other instructors have emphasized that they were frustrated by the lack of a spring break.
Ashleen Williams, Senior Barksdale Fellow at the Honors College, said that she plans her spring break trips a year in advance, right after coming back from the previous one. She explained that, for her, spring break is about freedom and possibility since there’s no pressure to go home for the holidays and it’s not long enough to try and get a job or internship.
“It’s about taking long walks, staying up too late and losing whole days to adventures with friends or spending time at the beach making decisions you only get to make when you’re 20-something … Students come back excited for the remainder of term. I come back excited to teach,” she said.
Across the Southeast, universities’ approaches to the spring semester have been inconsistent. Some schools, like Mississippi State University, have flatly eliminated spring break. Others, like the University of Georgia and Auburn University, still have spring break on their academic calendars while Louisiana State University has eliminated spring break but added “mid-semester breaks,” or a few days off during the semester.
Associate Provost Donna Strum said that she has heard several groups on campus discuss the possibility of “off days” but has not yet seen a formal proposal. Despite this, students say they need it.
“I’ve been exhausted. I know it is for our health that we have no breaks, but mentally, the lack of any scheduled break plus having to teach myself college over the weekend has equaled exhaustion,” Sarah Ryann Fortner, a sophomore psychology major, said.
