UA checks on students shut out by pandemic

Some adapt, others stress, survey finds

FAYETTEVILLE — Some used only a few words when a University of Arkansas, Fayetteville survey asked, “How has the pandemic impacted your experience as a student?”

Among the shortest answers: “Every way imaginable,” “No impact,” “Negatively,” “Ruined my semester,” “Horribly,” “Mental Health,” “Unexpected costs,” “Not at all,” “a lot,” “Mentally,” “not much,” and “It’s been okay.”

Others more fully described a sense of loss.

“It has tainted my college experience. I have missed out on countless experiences and memories and will never get those opportunities back,” one student said.

UA suspended in-person instruction on March 12 and switched to online-only classes. The state’s largest university plans to have the student body return to campus next month as it reopens

in phases in the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The survey sent out by email in early July went to all students who took courses in the spring, university spokesman Mark Rushing said.

Four questions were asked, with student responses to the first question — about effects of the pandemic — provided to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette under the state’s public-disclosure law. The university has said that it will release additional responses.

Rushing said that the survey’s general purpose is “to help inform communications strategies designed to reach students by gauging their thoughts on the return to campus and what to expect during the fall semester.” The UA team that worked on the survey is part of the university’s larger pandemic response effort, Rushing said.

In some responses, students described circumstances making online-only classes a challenge.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has nearly ruined my experience as a student. I live in a rural area where high speed internet is only available through a dodgy mobile phone connection,” wrote one student, who added: “I am seriously considering just getting a job” rather than finishing school.

Some wrote about difficulties with learning at home.

“For one it was nice to be home, spend time with family, and safely social distancing. On the other hand there were countless distractions and little motivation,” one student said.

Others had the opposite experience.

“If anything, it has made me a better student. I’ve bettered my time management skills and have studied more than ever. My grades have improved a lot,” a student said.

COLLEGE LIFE UPENDED

Many remarked on how they missed the company of their classmates.

“I am a social butterfly and not being able to meet new people and talk to my friends as much has drove me crazy. So many of my friends were seniors this year and I didn’t get to have all our last moments and events together such as Row and formals,” one student said, referring to the large “Row week” parties hosted by campus fraternities.

Another wrote: “This pandemic has greatly limited the social experience of attending college. College is supposed to be the best days of your life which you get to build friendships that last a lifetime.”

One student said “lowkey i’ve been kind of depressed.. i need to be back on campus, i need those social interactions.”

Others also described struggling with mental health.

“It has impacted my mental health in a negative way, not being able to be around friends and the support system that I have at school was really hard for me,” one student responded.

Said another: “Being a student, it has been incredibly hard to learn the skills I need to learn through a computer, seeing as everything in my career is done with a group of people and meant to be a shared experience. Also I have struggled with severe depression without being in contact with people.”

International students described travel restrictions and feeling uncomfortable with their circumstances.

“In life, as an international student, I very much want to go home. My ticket was cancelled 7 times, and I was helpless,” said one student. “But I dare not go home, because I still have a year to graduate, and if I go home, then I can’t come back. I can’t graduate.“

Said another: “I am an international student eager to learn more about the American culture; when the campus shut down, it felt like Fayetteville just died. It felt and feels lonely without the socialization that comes with student life. It also gives me anxiety when I think about the fact that I could go home but not come back to the U.S.”

FINANCES, COMPLAINTS

Some students remarked on financial stresses brought on by the pandemic.

“I have lost both of my jobs and no longer have any income,” one student wrote.

“I’ve been in my hometown more and my dad has been laid off,” another said.

“I had to get a new job so I am making less money. I have less money to attend campus in the fall,” responded one student.

“I lost a paid internship due to the pandemic. This will make paying for expenses such as food and gas in the Fall and Spring more difficult,” said another.

“I’m broke and things still cost money,” stated one short reply.

The university announced in April that returning students would receive a credit for unused room-and-board costs.The campus closed its residence halls to most students on April 3.

Some complained, however, about paying full tuition costs given changes in how classes are taught.

Tuition rates are not increasing this fall at UA, a decision made by the University of Arkansas System board of trustees. Some fall classes have been switched to online-only instruction — a spokesman has said about 1 in 4 — as the campus tries to encourage physical distancing given limited space. Many classes are taking a hybrid approach that involves rotating attendance so students sometimes participate online rather than in classrooms.

“It feels like a slap in the face by the University to be charging students a full tuition rate (with no reduction, even including the hold on an increase) when all parties are aware of the disconnect between fully in-person learning and remote or even hybrid options,” one student said.

“College is a joke when presented in a full online experience. I won’t finish a degree in this manner. it made it more difficult, and it was the same price as being face to face which is absolutely insane in light of the circumstances,” said another student.

“I feel like I am not getting the full education I am paying for with the university,” said one student.

FAMILY STRESSES

Students who are parents described the difficulty in caring for children while having their own course work.

“The pandemic shut their schools down and I was a fulltime campus student taking online classes last semester. I could not find a quiet place to do my studies because children were at home and every local place such as a library or a place to study was CLOSED,” wrote one student, adding that “this has put such a strain on my finances, I might not be able to even afford to return to college.”

Another student stated that “when schools shut down it wasn’t a change in my classes so much because I was already completely online but with kids home and all the work needing to be done it was very hard on my mental health.”

Said another: “It has made a huge impact as a parent with kids out of school and fall uncertain it will be hard to guarantee attendance.”

One graduate student said “students and instructors alike, I’m speaking as both, now have other concerns to worry about along their peripheries: such as, concerns/ care for family members, accessibility issues.” This means “the same level of productivity is hard to uphold.”

Some students described having their academic work interrupted.

“It has halted my dissertation progress. My biggest worry is that I won’t be able to finish on my preferred timeline, and that my research will be less meaningful since it hinges on student campus-resource use,” one student wrote.

Other graduate students described the pandemic affecting different aspects of their lives.

“I am a graduate student, and I did not get to go to office hours or be with my friends who are also students. I also know other students who are struggling financially now because they were not able to get a summer job as soon as they’d hoped since less places were hiring,” one student said.

A group of graduate students in a letter to Chancellor Joe Steinmetz have asked for graduate teaching assistant stipends to be raised for the upcoming academic year, citing the pandemic. An online petition seeking a “living wage” stipend has more than 1,700 signatures as of Friday.

Steinmetz has said he wants to raise stipend levels but the minimum amounts have not been increased for the new year.

HEALTH CONCERNS

The survey did not ask students about their health.

Rushing, the UA spokesman, said students were not asked to identify themselves, but that because of the online portal used to gather responses “identifying information was captured by the system.”

The records released by the university to the Democrat-Gazette did not include any names, with some responses partially redacted. The university cited federal student privacy law as well as a state law that excludes “medical records, adoption records, and education records” from public disclosure.

Answers to the survey did not appear to refer to having fallen sick with covid-19, at least among the 74 pages of responses released by UA as of Friday.

One student said “I have lost many family friends already due to COVID-19.”

Another gave thanks for being able to study online given health concerns.

“I have been working remotely and taking classes remotely since mid-March but I am SO grateful for this opportunity. I am immunocompromised so the ability to do my work and school from home so I can stay safe has been an immense privilege during this time,” one student said.

Others cited the pandemic as a reason why online courses are a good option.

“Although online classes aren’t as enjoyable as face-toface instruction, I feel it’s the best way to handle education during this pandemic and I’m glad that classes were moved online in the spring semester,” one student said.

A few students mentioned fear in their responses.

“I feel scared to return to campus. I feel like i’m placing my life and my health into the hands of 30,000 people,” said one student.

But another student said pandemic fears didn’t fully take into account the student experience.

“I feel as though my experience as a student has been taken away from me without much thought to how it will impact me. I don’t think it’s necessary to take everything away out of fear,” the student said.

Some concerns about the pandemic went beyond the fall.

“My motivation and drive has been crippled by the overwhelming fear that when I graduate my degree will be worth little in a post-pandemic environment,” said one student.