How students prepare for finals | Photo by Jessica Fugett | The Wright State Guardian
On March 10 Wright State University (WSU) President Dr. Sue Edwards announced the university would begin to transition back to in-person learning starting this fall.
In-person offerings
As coronavirus cases continue to decrease in Ohio, WSU released the current plan for course offerings in the fall. The plan is to offer between 50-70% of available courses in-person or a combination of in-person and online delivery.
“I will continue to caution our Raider and Laker communities that this by no means should be taken as an indication that university life will return to pre-March 2020 normal,” Edwards said in her From the President’s Desk message on March 10. “But it should be viewed as a move in the right direction toward our new normal.”
Although there is the possibility for class offerings to change in the coming months depending on the coronavirus case rate in Ohio by the start of the fall semester, students can log into their Wings Express accounts to view what classes will be offered.
“If with any luck, we see the population fully vaccinated before fall semester begins, we may well convert all of our partially online classes back to in-person,” Professor and Chair of the WSU English Department Alpana Sharma said.
Hybrid and online
Many courses that have been offered online over the last academic year are beginning to transition to a hybrid or flexible setting as opposed to fully in-person. In some cases, the decision to go flexible has to do with the number of seats available in a classroom and the 50% capacity limit still in place for in-person learning.
“Computer labs in the basement of Millett Hall normally seat only 28 students; at 50% capacity they can accommodate only 14 students,” Sharma said. “Partially online in this scenario means that half the students will attend one day, the other half will attend the other day, and both groups will learn online on the day they are not meeting in person.”
For students who have concerns regarding the possibility of courses moving fully online this fall and are worried about what decision to make regarding housing, WSU Residence Life and Housing has informed students of their flexible housing policy for the upcoming semesters.
“Should classes remain virtual for Fall Semester 2021, you will have the option to cancel your housing contract prior to move-in day,” WSU Residence Life and Housing said in a recent update. “If your classes change from in-person to all online after moving into campus housing, then you will have the option to pursue cancellation through the appeals process.
