Multiple Ohio University students reported experiencing anxiety and stress over receiving course information and syllabi for the Spring Semester later than expected.
Aniya Wilson, a freshman studying philosophy pre-law, said she did not feel as informed about classes starting the semester as she would have liked. All but one of her professors, she said, emailed syllabi and course information the day before classes started or even the day of class.
When course information, including required textbooks, is delayed, materials may not arrive on time for classes and homework.
“I wasn't able to get any of that done, and it just kind of heightened my anxiety about the semester starting because of the fact that I knew I was gonna have to go into it unprepared,” Wilson said.
Austin Park, a freshman studying political science, had a similar experience. Several of Park’s professors emailed course information Monday, the day before classes began.
Both Wilson and Park said they did not experience the same delay in materials during Fall Semester.
Though the beginning of the semester has been frustrating for some students, faculty are not without challenges as well.
Visual communication professor Sam Girton calls for some understanding among students and faculty for the difficulty of the present situation, despite many strong opinions on how to proceed. For professors, adapting to online and hybrid course formats takes up significant time and planning as they try to accommodate all students.
“It's an extremely complex and difficult situation,” Girton said. “Everybody that I work with is doing the absolute best they can and feel safe with in order to provide a quality education.”
However, Girton does feel online learning compromises the education that students are paying for.
The university did not respond to The Post’s request for comment by the time of publication.
