Students and faculty petition UNC System ‘to be more respectful’ in coronavirus response
Thousands of North Carolina college students and faculty are asking the UNC System for more accessibility to online classes, grading flexibility and a decision on reimbursement for housing in light of the system’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.
The UNC System ordered students to vacate all 17 campuses Tuesday after it suspended all in-person instruction and moved classes online or remote for the Spring 2020 semester. The changes were an effort to protect students, faculty and staff and to limit the spread of coronavirus across the state, which has more than 70 cases so far.
Kylah Guion, a junior at N.C. A&T State University, started the petition, which now has more than 8,000 signatures and 10 demands for the UNC System and its Board of Governors.
“We just want the UNC System to be more respectful of our real conditions,” Guion said. “There’s no grace. And we would like that.”
She said the sudden lack of housing options, potentially losing campus jobs, and the switch to online classes are difficult issues to navigate for students, many of whom are teenagers.
The system should make the transition to online courses more accessible and more feasible for as many students as possible, if universities have the tools to do so, Guion said.
“We just found out like two days ago, and we’re having to scramble to get off of campuses by the end of the week, while we’re still expected to show up in all of our online classes,” Guion said.
If you or someone you know has been affected by the coronavirus at a university, including international students, please contact higher education reporter Kate Murphy at kamurphy@newsobserver.com.
Problems with online classes
The petition argues that demanding students to be present through Zoom or video chats for online instruction on Eastern Standard Time is “vastly inconsiderate and virtually impossible for some students,” particularly those from other states and countries.
Students from rural areas will also struggle as the quality of internet connection does not always meet the demands of an online education system, according to the petition.
“There are also students, in rural areas or otherwise, who simply do not have access to the internet,” the petition says. “To overlook this fact is extremely classist, and it harmfully minimizes the immoveable reality of many UNC System students.”
The students are asking that professors post recordings of all meetings for the online courses to accommodate students living in other time zones.
The UNC System launched a digital resource to help faculty use technology to hold classes online. The system is also partnering with LinkedIn Learning to offer professors free courses that will help with the transition by learning about tools and virtual communication software.
Students also want the UNC System to force universities to make a plan for how students without access to reliable internet or other necessary technology can complete online courses.
The students say they shouldn’t have to submit any coursework until the UNC system makes a decision about reimbursing students for housing and meal plans.
UNC-Chapel Hill and N.C. State leaders have said the UNC System will make decisions about potential refunds for housing or dining fees after April 1 or after the universities are “beyond the immediate challenges being faced regarding the spread of COVID-19.”
Concerns about the grading process
Students want to choose how they would like to be graded in each course, whether by getting a letter grade with an automatic curve or a pass/fail option, and to prohibit attendance from being factored into those grades.
They argue that no student in the UNC system should receive a failing grade for the Spring 2020 semester.
A separate petition is circulating specifically asking UNC-CH to offer a pass/fail grading option for all classes in the spring semester. It has more than 6,000 signatures.
Duke University announced Wednesday that it made a grading change similar to what UNC System students are asking for. All Duke courses will have a satisfactory/unsatisfactory grading option and those grades will count toward curricular, major, continuation and graduation requirements. Undergraduate students can also request to receive a letter grade through the university by April 22.
In the petition, UNC System students also ask to be able to withdraw from courses until March 30 and not be limited in the number of courses they can withdraw from this semester to give students more control.
Students are worried about earning their degrees and are asking that universities don’t make any decisions that prevent seniors from graduating.
Changes affect mental health and finances
The petition also criticizes lack of communication from the UNC system about how social distancing and online courses will affect students with mental health issues, including increasing the risk of depression and suicidal thoughts.
“Coupling these implications with the stresses of navigating this virus, public panic, loss of income, worry about loved ones, concern for one’s own safety, and the responsibilities (and difficulties) of being an online student may have adverse effects on the health and well-being of UNC students, and thus hamper their ability to perform at their best academically,” the petition says.
Leaving campus unexpectedly isn’t easy, especially for students who are employees at their university.
“We are young people, we are students and for a lot of people this was their main source of income,” Guion said. “Having that cut off and having to figure out how to make it work on their own … is not fair to students.”
UNC System schools are working on arrangements for employees to work remotely, granting certain paid administrative leave and identifying mandatory employees needed for to keep the campuses running during this time, according to the system.
Duke announced Wednesday that it will pay all faculty and staff regardless of their work location or work schedule and pay contract workers in Duke’s food services facilities and hotels. Duke said it will provide financial assistance to all full-time food service workers and employees of the Washington Duke Inn and J.B. Duke Hotel so that they will maintain their current pay through May 31, 2020.
Thousands of people signed the petition in less than 24 hours, and Guion says she’s appreciative of the support but isn’t surprised.
“I think that real people understand what we’re facing,” Guion said. “And real people understand that we are people and not just commodities of a university system.”
The petition says they are expecting a response and a decision from the UNC System by March 23 at 5:00pm.
The UNC System Board of Governors is meeting by conference call on Thursday and Friday.
This story was originally published March 18, 2020 at 5:51 PM with the headline "Students and faculty petition UNC System ‘to be more respectful’ in coronavirus response."
