“As a student it is pretty shocking. The transition to all online classes is definitely difficult because of all the changes. I had to change my routine, and reinvested money into the whole online class. I know a lot of students are struggling also, especially the one with low income. The ability to get a Chromebook and unlimited hotspot is difficult,” said Zane Beebee, an RTV student graduating this spring.
With social distancing ordered, Delta College students are trying their best to adjust to the “new normal.”
Students who have never taken any online classes now don’t have a choice, because even classes with attached lab have transitioned to fully online.
Studying from home means not having access to face-to-face instruction, office hours and discussion with the professors, and not having access to all the equipment that Delta offers on campus.
For some students, this has really taken a toll.
“It is not easy at all, the biggest challenge is figuring things out on your own,” said student Claudia Vargas.
While students acknowledge Delta is trying to fill the gaps, they also say it is not the same.
“Delta is doing its best, but the resources we have online are nothing compared to what we had in person,” said Beebee “Tutoring is not the same. When I go to tutor, I do not get the same tutoring quality and we don’t have enough time to understand and learn from our professor. For example, my statistics professor has like 500 students and I am just one of them, so even with the Zoom meeting, I cannot ask him questions and instructions like before. I cannot hawk up class time just for myself. When we had classes in person, I used a lot of school resources. I miss the collaboration of students in- a group.”
Balance is elusive, particularly for those who have responsibilities in addition to school.
“I think my biggest difficulty is that I’m working full time, while trying to get homework done from three classes. I feel my biggest challenge would be my communication class because we worked in group and now nobody communicates with each other,” said student Joseline Castro.
On the other hand, there are students who have been adjusting well to the situation. They find things to do every day, double their study time to keep up with all the schoolwork, some even use free time to better themselves.
“Luckily for me, I’m only taking a women’s history course that involves more reading than anything. My instructor has been very understanding, lenient and flexible with us as far as due dates,” said student Stacy Ponce.
Student Justin Keo has had a similar experience.
“The transition is easy for me with everything going on, especially with classes being online. I don’t have any big challenges. I know it’s well so far,” said Keo.
With everything going on, Delta staff and faculty members are trying their best to offer help and provide resources for students. Students say a lot of professors are more flexible with deadlines and test times.
However, there’s always something to improve on.
“Hire more tutors to be readily accessible for students who may need more assistance with science/math classes,” said Ponce.
Beebee said instructors need to make changes to delivery of information, particularly as understanding is different in an online-only modality.
“Now that we don’t have the leadership, the instruction from professors, they really need to consider the student’s knowledge. Some classes have a very high learning curve and we don’t have access to lots of resources like before and the professors give lots of work as if they think we only take just their class. I think they need to break the study material into smaller chunks for students to absorb better. We have to focus on maintaining the teaching quality, not just finishing what had [been] planned,” Beebee said.
The hardest part may be yet to come for students who hoped to walk across the stage at Stockton Arena on May 21.
Delta College announced in early April that it would switch to a virtual format for the event.
“My biggest ‘issue’ is not being given the option to have an actual commencement ceremony. I have stated in the past that I do not want a virtual ‘ceremony’ and will not attend one, on protest, we should have had a say in having a ceremony later in the year. A smaller ceremony, because if you ask most of the students, they will tell you that ‘walking the stage’ is the most important thing, we truly do not care about a bunch of speeches, but the administration has decided ‘what is best for us,’” said Valery Adamsky, an Art, Humanities and Social Science student at Delta College.