Online Learning: How COVID-19 has affected UWM students

When news of an extended spring break hit her inbox last March, Jaya Walters went online to check flight prices.

The newly declared pandemic isn’t that serious, she thought. It would be over in a month and she would have the opportunity score some cheap flight tickets and have a new experience. Or so she thought.

“I was excited,” said the 22-year-old UWM student. “One of my professors at the time was pretty adamant that we would all return to campus and it’ll just be an extra-long break.”

That extra-long break away from campus has continued to this day.

For UWM students, spring break was scheduled to begin on Mar. 15. 2020, Within days of the declaration of the pandemic, UWM stated that spring break would be extended until the 29th.

An email UWM students and faculty received on March 10, 2020.

Walters thought this would be the perfect chance to travel to California. Flight tickets reached the low 80s and she was confident it would be worth the risk.

“I honestly had all intentions of traveling to L.A. and just exploring with a few friends,” said Walters. “I really had no concept of a pandemic or what it meant for me personally.”

Walters’ flight was soon canceled and she found herself stuck at home during the pandemic.

“Once I realized how quickly things were shutting down it started to feel more real,” said Walters. “I started to feel nervous about what this meant for school or what the rest of the semester would look like. I had never taken an online class so I really did not feel prepared to do so now.”

Professors at UWM also worried about the new teaching system. Online learning is not something everyone was previously comfortable with or even enjoyed doing. Without a choice, it soon became everyone’s normal.

“Our department tried to avoid it,” said ASL professor Joel Mankowski. “ASL is a visual language so it was difficult.”

Most UWM courses were designed to work best for an in-person setting. Moving these classes to an online format quickly altered how the course can be taught.

“I was taking a few chemistry classes when we first moved to online,” said UWM student Hannah Koltz. “It was difficult because I could tell the professors were struggling to figure it out. We couldn’t do labs anymore and mostly relied on videos, lectures and readings for the rest of the semester.”

After this semester Koltz changed her major as she did not feel confident in learning chemistry online.

“I heard there were a few in-person class and ways to work around the online format,” said Koltz. “I just didn’t feel comfortable with anything. I didn’t think I was learning enough and I was no longer confident in my abilities. That’s why I changed my major to early education teaching.”

Without the disruption of COVID-19, Koltz believes she would be graduating with a degree in chemistry.

“I don’t regret any of my choices,” said Koltz. “It has still been hard online learning, but I think I made the best choices for myself and I wouldn’t change a thing.”

Adjusting to the online format is just one of the few struggles college students and professors, have had to face. Many students who lived on campus lost their jobs, had to leave campus housing or even had to leave UWM entirely. 

For the graduation year of 2020-2021, just 43 percent of 3,201 candidates graduated. Slightly lower than the previous year.

“There were a few times where I contemplated dropping out,” said UWM graduate Katlyn Rouths. “Not entirely because I felt like it was too hard, but because I had SO much going on.”

Rouths lost her job at UWM’s Grind Coffeehouse and also got laid off from a job she held at Fiserv Forum. 

“I soon lost all of my income and had to move back home with my parents,” said Rouths. “Paying for another semester of college was really the last thing I wanted to do.”

Rouths only had four more courses to take before receiving her degree.

“I decided taking out a loan was the best option,” said Rouths. “I was so close, it didn’t make much sense to just stop. I wouldn’t say I regret it, but I am in debt now and it’s just another worry in the back of my mind.”

Rouths finished her courses and graduated with a degree in Archaeology and Anthropology. 

“I really hated online school,” said Rouths. “It took a lot of will power to log on every day and feel like I was learning. I honestly felt like I was on my own and teaching myself everything. I did not enjoy it.”

After taking a Twitter poll of 10 UWM students on how much they enjoyed online learning, 70% said they would rather be back in the classroom. While the other 30% said they enjoyed the freedom.

“I can honestly say I actively despise online learning,” Walters said. “I hate to be so harsh, but I really am struggling with feeling like I am getting my money’s worth. I’m spending a lot of money and going into debt to just stay in my room every day of the week.”

Walters is working towards a degree in graphic design and hopes to graduate at the end of next Fall.

“It’s embarrassing to look back and think that I was prepared to travel and be irresponsible during a pandemic,” said Walters. “I’ve definitely felt myself grow up more and learn to adjust. COVID-19 has been awful, but I can credit many of my strengths and current skills to living through this pandemic. I think we can all say we’ve changed and are coming out a different person.”