Students, faculty react to UNC's latest plans for the spring semester

As this unusual semester comes to an end, students are looking ahead to the upcoming spring semester. 

Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz sent an email on Oct. 23 updating the campus community on what the spring semester would look like. 

In the email, Guskiewicz said the University will reopen on-campus housing with reduced capacity by offering only single occupancy rooms, and that classes would be delivered both in person and remotely. 

The majority of classes are projected to be held virtually. Priority for in-person instruction will be given to classes that benefit first-years and seniors, along with courses that benefit from hands-on learning. 

Guskiewicz said the University has learned important lessons from their past experiences and from those of peer universities. 

“We have listened very carefully to the opinions and advice offered by our students, faculty and other key constituencies,” Guskiewicz said. “Through that feedback, we know it will be important to provide flexibility and options to ensure a quality Carolina experience.”

Though UNC’s plans reflect the University’s efforts to safely return to normalcy, students and faculty have reacted to news of the spring semester with mixed emotions. 

William Corley, a sophomore studying biomedical and health sciences engineering, said that having mainly online classes again will force him to keep teaching himself course material. 

“The fact that next semester’s classes are largely online is only going to increase the difficulty of my already very rigorous schedule since this learning style is so tedious,” Corley said. “I honestly thrive when in a dynamic learning environment with different levels of interaction." 

The continuation of online courses is also affecting students who have different graduation tracks. 

Kylie Justice, a sophomore psychology major, said she has always planned to graduate a year early and enroll in physician's assistant school. 

But, she said UNC’s decision to keep most classes online presents a challenge for her plans. 

“I am someone who actually plans on graduating as a junior, so in-person classes being prioritized to freshman and seniors is really going to affect my education,” Justice said. “It is already so difficult to get into the classes that you need for your major and I’m worried that this is only going to make it harder.” 

Though some students are primarily concerned with how online classes will continue to hinder their learning, political geography instructor Devran Ӧcal said he does not understand the rush to reopen campus. 

“I wonder if the University’s management has any solid plans for slowing the spread of the virus across campus, other than just accusing students of throwing parties,” Ӧcal said. “If we start the semester again with nonfunctional preventions, like just putting ‘wear your mask signs’ around and asking students to social distance, we should definitely prepare ourselves for more clusters of cases.”

In a Faculty Executive Committee meeting on Oct. 19, Provost Bob Blouin said that no student, faculty member or graduate student would have to come back to campus in the spring if they do not want to. 

Anna Millar, assistant dean of UNC’s Kenan-Flagler Business School's undergraduate business program, said she is hopeful that the plans UNC is putting together for the spring semester come to fruition. 

“I can honestly say that we miss the students terribly and look forward to having them back on campus,” Millar said. “As we all continue to digest the fact that we will not be back to normal operations for a while, many will appreciate the small steps taken to foster connectivity between students, faculty and staff.” 

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