Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
CONTROVERSY ERUPTS OVER REMOTE LEARNING
WEST CHESTER » West Chester University President Chris Fiorentino addressed hybrid learning for the spring semester, at the 17,719 student school, during Monday’s virtual town hall.
Most WCU students will continue to learn primarily from a screen, rather than through conventional in- person instruction,
during the spring 2021 semester.
WCU released the following statement Monday afternoon:
“Protecting the health and safety of WCU’s educational community will always be a priority. With the nation continuing to see dramatic spikes in new COVID- 19 cases every day following scientists’ predictions, West Chester University is taking extra precautions to protect the community from the newest wave of the virus by continuing
remote and some hybrid ( meaning both remote and in- person) academic instruction through the spring semester.”
Students and parents are now making the hard decisions to decide whether to enroll for a mostly virtual semester.
“As course selection and preparation for the next semester began recently, the university made the announcement about its intentions several weeks ago so students and their families could plan accordingly,” reads the statement. “West Chester University understands students’ frustrations with the pandemic and the measures that have been put in place to protect its community of 17,719 students and their families; 1,919 faculty and staff; and the many neighbors who live in our surrounding community.”
Students will receive monetary credits to attend classes
during the 2021 summer sessions.
“The university will continue to provide COVID- 19 relief credits to both in- state and out- of- state students, full- time and part- time, for spring 2021, which will lower the total combined costs of tuition and fees,” reads the release. “On average, for a full- time in- state undergraduate student, the total combined costs of tuition and fees for spring
2021 will be reduced from $ 5,235 to $ 4,666, a savings of 11 percent. On average, for full- time out- of- state undergraduate students, the total combined costs of tuition and fees for spring 2021 will be reduced from $ 11,147 to $ 8,649, a savings of 22 percent.”
A couple of demonstrators met outside the president’s office, at Philips Memorial Hall, at the same time the town hall took place.
The mother of a student held a sign that read, “Spring 2021 Bring Students Back.”
Michelle preferred to not
give her last name to a reporter and said that the university should give students “the chance.”
“Get them into class,” Michelle said, about the students. “Virtual learning is just not the same.
“The school needs to make an effort to get them back.”
Crystal Hebbons is cochair of the Parent’s Advisory Council and favors virtual learning during the ongoing pandemic.
“The university made the right decision, especially with the surge of COVID cases occurring and rising
across the United States,” she said.
Hebbons also said that the residence halls are not set up to prevent the risk of students getting sick.
“All it takes is one student to contract the virus and then you’ve got an outbreak,” she said.
Molly Scollo is president of the Student Government Association and a fourth year Political Science major.
“I miss that social interaction … but the health and safety of our community is the most important thing,” she said. “We need to keep people safe.”