By Meredith Lyverse
In February, Bellarmine staff and students were told campus would close because of winter weather, but classes would continue online. This announcement was not well-received by students and revealed that many rely on campus-based resources even though Covid-19 has moved some classes completely online and others to a hybrid format.
Mark Wiegand, associate provost of academic affairs, said he did not expect the extent to which students voiced concerns on the policy change.
“There was a realization that some students would have difficulty accessing technology,” Wiegand said. “It’s one of the better opportunities we’ve had over the year to provide us with lessons learned.”
The university hasn’t decided what the weather policy will be for next year, but Wiegand said a decision will be made in the summer.
“My hope is that I will begin work on this over the summer with input from various stakeholders, including students, as we prepare for the next academic year,” Wiegand said.
Wiegand said academic affairs’ mission is to oversee the university’s academic programs and work with students and faculty on how education is delivered, not hinder their educational experience on snow days.
“There was an encouragement for faculty to offer their classes if they were able and to make sure that those online offerings were either recorded or that there were mechanisms available so that students could get the information,” Wiegand said.
Commuter student Divya Joseph said the expectation that students who lack technology at home should have to watch recorded lectures until they can come to campus is unfair.
“Not being able to ask questions in real time takes away from being in class,” Joseph, a first-year student, said.
Junior Madisen Bowling made a comment on SGA’s Instagram post regarding the snow day policy and said it affects those who have testing accommodations.
“This puts those that test in the SSC at a huge disadvantage. If campus is closed but I have a test scheduled, I am still required to take that exam. As a nursing major, I don’t agree with this,” Bowling said in her comment.
Chelsea McKendree, assistant director of academic services, oversees the testing center. She said the testing center uses Microsoft Teams to proctor students with testing accommodations at home. She said not having proper technology is a disadvantage to students who utilize this campus resource.
“A lot of students really do depend on these accommodations for their success,” McKendree said.
McKendree also said there were few appointments scheduled on the day campus was closed but she had to alert those who were scheduled to use the testing center that they could reschedule or use online proctoring.
“When students use online proctoring, it’s assuming they have a distraction-reduced space and those technology aids like proper WiFi and their own laptop,” McKendree said.
When students don’t have access to proper technology, they contact Natasha Begin, assistant dean of students. She works closely with students and often uses the emergency fund to provide them with support in all aspects of life, not just technological needs.
“We learned there are some low-income students in need of things outside of academics,” Begin said.
The emergency fund started in 2019 with money given by private donors. “The emergency fund became a place where if students had technology needs or other needs like healthcare or housing, they could go there and request support,” Begin said.
Student Affairs had many requests for WiFi and computers in March 2020. Begin said she is still seeing students who need technology at home.
“A lot of students have Chromebooks because it’s a cheaper, pretty accessible computer. However, Chromebooks are not necessarily compatible with Teams, so we provided funding for students to potentially upgrade their computer if that’s what they needed,” Begin said.
Senior commuter Jameelah Lockhart said she thought the policy change was unfair to her peers who come to campus for classes.
“I wasn’t really worried about me as much as I was for the other people because I know that was going to put a damper on their performance and work,” Lockhart said.
Lockhart said she wishes the administration had left the weather policy alone and given students a snow day.
“I feel like that one snow day, everybody needed. It wasn’t just, like, technology. I also feel like it was a mental day people needed,” Lockhart said.
Wiegand said the feedback from students was unique learning opportunity for the administration.
“We’re building the plane as we fly it,” Wiegand said. “It gave us an opportunity to come together and create a dialogue.”