Students React to the Possibility of Partial, Full Online Semester for Fall 2020

A Sarah Lawrence senior working on a conference project from their kitchen table. In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, many institutions are unsure how the fall 2020 semester will proceed.

Credit: Instagram @slclibrary

On April 29th, Sarah Lawrence President Cristle Collins Judd sent a campus-wide email regarding the College's opening for the fall 2020 semester, stating administration would "make a determination about when we will return to residential education [...] no later than July 1." While the college has not made public the potential options for a Fall semester layout, other institutions, including Boston University and Grinnell College, have introduced potential semester structures. These include an entirely on-campus residential opening, a delayed in-person opening – where classes would start virtually before moving to an in-person campus setting the second half of the semester – or a fully virtual semester. 

On May 12th, the California State system announced a majority of classes will be conducted online this fall due to concerns about the pandemic. Higher education publications have also published articles exploring different scenarios for the coming semester or questioning if students will even show up if their schools were to return to a residential setting in the fall. From first-year intensive programs to local exchange options – where students who live far from their schools may attend a local college, as opposed to the institution in which they are enrolled, for credit – the possible fall scenarios are numerous and diverse, and at this point, there does not seem to be just one option that colleges are considering more than others.

On May 3rd, the Phoenix distributed a survey over the 2021, 2022, and 2023 class Facebook pages. The survey consisted of a series of possible scenarios for the Fall 2020 semester, asking students to gauge their interest in a residential, partial, or fully online semester, and their plans for the semester if the college was to be partially or fully virtual. Below is a series of selected data from surveyed students, with the complete list of all fifty-four individual responses available here.

When asked if students would enroll and attend classes if SLC was to be a fully residential education in the fall, 90.8% of students responded yes, 7.4% responded maybe, and one student responded using the “other” option, anonymously writing “if they allow students with disabilities to come back. There has been a lot of conversation about making immunocompromised students do online [classes], no matter what the college actually chooses to do for the entire student body.” 

The number of students who would attend SLC if the semester were partially online dropped to 44.4%, with 35.2% answering maybe, 14.8% answering no, and another 5.7% answering other–these responses include weighing the option of flight costs and travel time for international students, or the requirement that the school provide a guaranteed residential start date for students in order to consider returning online for the beginning of the semester.

If SLC were to hold the entire fall semester online, only 18.5% of the fifty-four surveyed students would attend, with 51.9% answering no, 14.8% maybe, and another 14.8% responding other. The ‘Other’ responses include if there was the option to defer admission or loan payments for a semester, or if there was a tuition reduction or incentive for virtual education. On May 12th, Vice President for Enrollment and Dean of Admission and Financial Aid Kevin McKenna announced that the Board of Trustees overturned the tuition and housing increase for the 2020-2021 year, and cost of attendance will remain the same as the current school year, with tuition being locked at $56,020.

Students were also asked what their presumed plans are if the semester were to be partially or fully online. Below are a selected amount of responses, with the full list available here.

“Depending on the cost of tuition I would transfer to a local college and find a job so I could move in the future.” -Corinne Alexander ‘21, Maryland

“Take a gap semester/year. Try to find a job as an "essential" worker during that time.” -Anonymous

“Hopefully I will be able to get an apartment with some friends and get a job if we are online for the entirety of next semester, but I will most likely be living with my parents in Florida.” -Jamie Lenehan ‘23, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida

“Just take classes, work if I'm able but I'm high risk so it's unlikely it would be safe.” -Anonymous

“I’d take a gap semester or take cheaper local classes—I can’t justify SLC tuition for online education, especially with the hiring freeze impacting the classes I would be interested in and the guest professors I love. I’d stay at home and be a caretaker for my younger siblings while building my family business with my mom (we’re essential workers). My family is going through financial and emotional hardships right now—my education is less of a priority right now because of the limitations of online learning and the global pandemic we are facing. I’m putting the collective over the individual.” -Ella Keymer ‘22, Rockland County, New York

“Take community college classes?” -Anonymous

“I would opt to take a gap year/semester if it did not impact financial aid. Sarah Lawrence is designed for in person class and conferences. A virtual model does not work.” -Anonymous

“I'd probably take a gap semester- I don't want to spend my last semester away from my friends.” -Anonymous

“Work at home and not take classes at Sarah Lawrence.” -Anonymous

“I have secured housing near SLC for the fall so I will be there regardless. I would try and find some kind of work (either volunteering/internship or a job).” -Anonymous

“I would most likely take a gap year to develop personal projects.” -Anonymous

“If SLC was fully virtual I would be very disappointed and want to leave. Probably take a year off, or study the year abroad so I could at least graduate from there. I would be back home in Europe studying and taking the online courses but that's it. I would not be happy at all. If there were partial classes I would still be disappointed because I would still have to pack all my things or pay EXTRA for college boxes which are actually pretty expensive. To store one box is $50 and as international students we have to buy many things and store them there.” -Member of the International Students Organization

“If not going to classes, [I] would just get a job.” -Anonymous

“Take classes and work as an essential worker to supplement not having my on-campus job, and move out of my mom’s house.” -Micaela Eckett ‘21, West Hartford, Connecticut

Bella Rowland-Reid, ‘21