Carleton University shared its course delivery plan in hopes of a safe return to campus in the fall.
Since May 31, students have had access to the class schedule and registration tool on Carleton Central which includes information about course delivery. The university’s registrar’s office outlined seven delivery options available for students, ranging from online-only to completely in-person, and several options in-between.
Online courses are listed as synchronous (with scheduled, real-time meetings), asynchronous (no scheduled, live meetings) or blended on Carleton Central. The blended section offers a mix of asynchronous and synchronous activities and lessons.
The first in-person option is the hybrid-flexible model—“hyflex”—which gives students the flexibility of choosing in-person or online for each class. Students who choose to stay online will tune into lectures at the same time as they are happening on campus.
There are also in-person classes with alternatives for people who choose to be online for the whole semester, and a section which requires departmental permission to attend online.
The final option is a completely in-person class. University administration advised online student not to register for the in-person classes.
“They [university administration] sort of gave us a certain amount of flexibility to do what we think is best,” he said.
While students have known since March that the fall semester would be partially in-person, the initial announcement did not include specifics about course delivery.
Jennifer Ramnarine, president of Carleton Academic Student Government (CASG), said she is pleased to see different class options offered to students.
“The new planned course options are fantastic because they provide students with a variety of course delivery methods to choose from,” Ramnarine said. “This will jumpstart bringing our campus back to life in a way that prioritizes the safety and comfort of all students.”
Olivia Annett, a third-year public affairs and policy management student at Carleton, said she is excited to finally be returning to campus in the fall.
“There are so many things to look forward to when we go back, but I think I am the most excited to be surrounded by friends and classmates who I haven’t been able to see in over a year,” Annett said.
However, there is some concern over the return to campus plan when it comes to international students. Saad Khan, a CUSA councillor, said he started the International Students Advisory Committee to help those students who can’t make it back to campus safely.
“My proposal to the university would be to keep an online learning option even though they are planning for a ‘significant return on campus [sic]’,” Khan said.
According to the university’s course delivery page, “online options will be available for those students who are unable to travel to Ottawa and/or return to campus.” However, not all courses will offer an online option.
Khan emphasized the need to support students who cannot return in person in a variety of ways. He said mental health resources, special programming and learning should be available for them if they need it.
Although many students will be returning, campus will not be the same as it was before the pandemic.
Saurette said that teaching might look different during the new academic year,s as many professors have learned to adapt to different circumstances and learned how to use various online tools to help support students.
“I think in some ways what you’re going to find is that Carleton next year is going to be a different place than it was before,” Saurette said. “We’ve all gone through this experience, everyone’s going to be excited to be back on campus, whether that’s profs or faculty or staff or students.”
Featured image by Spencer Colby.
