Following what’s happened in the past 2 years with the pandemic, will more colleges increase remote learning programs?
It was a prime topic when Penn State’s president, and other college administrators recently met with state lawmakers.
Penn State President Eric Barron, and the leaders of Pennsylvania’s three other State related University’s were quizzed during state budget hearings. Various questions were directly related to the pandemic impact and the lengthy stretches of time with no students on campus.
Barron said Penn State offered added initiatives to keep students connected
“The surveys of the students are very telling. they want to have a college experience, they have an expectation that people providing those services are people they can bump into or go see, they also want flexibility, flexibility to take some classes on line”
In a more remote setting there’s also resulting trends for faculty and staff
“We have positions that can work just fine remotely. although we see a lot of evidence those individuals get lower performance evaluations and are less likely to get promoted.”
One of the issues that’s becomes a priority was trending well before the pandemic
“The other thing is the investment in mental health which is growing dramatically in universities across the country. Penn State is spending 4 million dollars a year”
After a week off for Spring Break, Penn State classes resume on Monday
