Majority of classes return to in-person instruction

By Mary Brady     1/25/22 11:11pm

While the majority of classes returned to in-person instruction this Monday, 1.68 percent of these courses remained online only, according to C. Fred Higgs III, the vice provost for academic affairs. 

Professors had the ability to submit a petition for an exemption from face-to-face teaching, as announced in a COVID-19 update email from Provost Reginald DesRoches and Kevin Kirby, chair of the Crisis Management Advisory Committee.

“Most of the reasons [are] related to either the instructor [having] a vulnerable member in [their] household or they have a medical related release,” Higgs said.

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Stephanie Leal, an assistant professor of psychology, is teaching PSYC 308 (Memory) and PSYC 310 (Psychology of Aging) virtually. Leal said she has a 15-month-old child who can’t yet be vaccinated and she is teaching two large classes this semester, both factors that led to her decision to teach her classes virtually.

The deadline for professors to submit a petition was Jan. 20. However, Leal said she made sure her students knew the status of her courses during the break. 

“I had listed the course as fully online on my posted syllabus during the break. I’m not sure if the students checked the syllabus to see that though,” Leal said. “Otherwise, it was updated with the registrar before the semester started as fully online and then on the first day of class I announced that the course would be virtual the whole semester.”

Despite the fully online format, Leal said she still has plans to make her classes engaging.  

“Since we have been teaching remotely for quite some time now, I have learned what works well and what doesn’t in the online format,” Leal said. “Lots of group discussions and projects to interact with a smaller set of students seems to be helpful.”

Leal said that she hopes everyone can be mindful of the different circumstances that students and faculty alike have faced during the pandemic when thinking about professors’ decisions to teach in person or virtually.

“It is hard to know how the pandemic has affected everyone … it’s not a one size fits all in how we handle the pandemic,” Leal said. “If we have learned anything during the pandemic, it is that everyone has drastically different views of what safety means to them and what they feel comfortable with.”

John Hutchinson, a professor for CHEM 102, is teaching his course in-person and said he is very excited to be back with his students.

 “One thing we have learned from the past two years is that remote learning is not nearly as good as in-person learning,” Hutchinson said. “The connections between instructors and students are vital to successful learning and intellectual growth.  Remote learning works well for some things, but we know it does not work well for this crucial aspect.”

Hutchinson said he will still accommodate students who cannot attend.

“We will continue to record class sessions for at least the first few weeks until we know that these risks have abated,” Hutchinson said.

Arnav Sankaranthi, a Brown College junior, said he prefers having the option for both in-person and virtual classes.

“For some classes like labs it’s important to go in person of course, but for some lectures I think it might be easier to do things through Zoom,” Sankaranthi said.

Justice Coutee-McCullum, a Brown junior, said she prefers in-person classes but thinks it was a bad decision to return in person.

 “They [say cases] are declining but that’s because we don’t even have half of the population back,” Coutee-McCullum said.

Both Coutee-McCullum and Sankaranthi said their professors have offered accommodations.

“If you’re sick, you can attend through Zoom or they’ll have an asynchronous lecture through Zoom and upload it on canvas.” Sankaranthi said.

Higgs said the pandemic has required Rice to adapt, make changes and recalibrate frequently.

“The coronavirus and its variants will continue to be a global challenge and impact the way we teach, learn and do research,” Higgs said. “The experience of the past year and a half has shown us that early, multifaceted and campus wide precautions best position us to successfully carry out our mission.”

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