Approximately 60 Monday night University classes that meet once a week have been cancelled due to inclement weather which has prevented, in some cases, students and faculty from beginning their courses; however, those classes were able to meet in most cases for the first time on Monday, Feb. 9 some 21 days into the spring semester.
According to Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Laura Moriarty, in an effort to be proactive, the University was closed on Monday, Jan. 26 at 1 pm, Monday, Feb. 2 at 3:45 pm, and all day on Tuesday, Jan. 27 as a result of inclement weather.
After the Office of the Registrar and Moriarty claimed that they couldn’t specifically identify how many classes were affected by the shutdown, The Outlook conducted its own research and discovered that roughly 60 separate classes had not met as of Sunday, Feb. 8.
Dr. Stephen Chapman, an assistant professor of political science, finds the cancellations of his graduate-level Research Methods class (PS-516-50HY) “quite stressful,” yet understands the necessity for shutting down the campus. He said, “Professors spend many hours during winter and summer breaks designing syllabi and course materials; an example of one of the many unseen duties of an academic. When there is an interruption to the flow of the course, it throws everything off and we have to adapt.”
The Provost explained that the key factors taken into consideration when weighing the options of closing the University due to weather-related scenarios include: advice from the Monmouth University Police Department (MUPD) in their monitoring of weather reports; weather advisories distributed from the NJ State Police; conditions of both local and major roads leading to the campus; and activities and scheduling demands that might be impacted if the University is to be closed.
Patricia Swannack, Vice President for Administrative Services, added, “Depending on the specific situation we also identify what other colleges and universities are doing.”
According to Moriarty, administrators responsible for deciding the closing of the University include: herself; Swannack; University President Paul Brown; and Mary Anne Nagy, Vice President for Student Life and Leadership Engagement.
Eric Szkodny, a senior history and education student who has yet to meet in his Interpersonal Communication class (CO-120-50), said, “It sucks to have skipped it twice in a row. We’re going to be so far behind and we’ll have to jam the class with information. My professor will have to go over things so quickly that we won’t be able to take our time and really go in-depth with difficult subjects.”
Lisa Allocco, an adjunct professor of communication who is restructuring her course schedule for Interpersonal Communication (CO-120-50), said that the nature of the class may change, but the overall activities won’t be impacted. She said, “It’ll be easy to re-organize the early stages of a semester. It’s more of a challenge for me when a class is writing intensive or has multiple presentations planned, because the syllabus is a little more aggressive. I find it more of balancing act if cancellations occur once the semester is further underway.”
In an email sent out to the campus community on Monday, Jan. 26 at approximately 11 am, Swannack said that add/drop week was extended until Thursday, Jan. 29 in order to accommodate for the initial cancellation of classes within the second week of the semester. When classes were cancelled again on the following Monday, the add/drop extension was not continued. That means students who had never attended the class would not have an opportunity to remove themselves from the class, unless they chose to formally withdraw.
The Provost said that she understands that it could be unsettling for students who wanted to drop out of their class, but commented, “We’re going to have to get the students to understand that they picked this class for some reason, so let’s just stay with it as opposed to adding or dropping it. You just can’t do that.”
Alexa Burger, a junior communication student enrolled in online journalism (CO-333-50HY), said, “It is a little alarming not having met in class yet because now I am getting used to my schedule and workload, but it is a false impression since I still have to integrate a ‘new’ class into my routine… And I am nervous because… I do not have an option to drop without a ‘W’ on my transcript.”
Registrar Lynn Reynolds said, “We will review each student’s concern on an individual basis.” However, it is unclear as to what options beyond the ‘W’ students might have.
Despite the disruptions that some students and faculty are facing this semester, Swannack said the University has had similar situations where students and faculty had to cope with the closing of the University, and in some cases, for a longer contiguous time period. Reflecting on Superstorm Sandy, Swannack said, “Students missed two weeks of classes [and in conjunction] with the faculty were able to make up the time. Our faculty is highly experienced and will not have difficulty dealing with the missed classes.” She believes the faculty can arrange for material to be covered in a variety of ways other than physically meeting in the classroom, with alternatives including online activities and additional readings through eCampus.
“It may take a little longer to get acquainted with students and vice versa, but I feel that once we get started, things should return to a normal atmosphere,” said Chapman. “I am also shifting some of the hybrid weeks into actual class meetings to make up for lost time.” He said he has contacted his students via email, but it is difficult to deliver an overarching message about a class on an individual level without any formal introductions.
Nagy agreed with Chapman and feels that the cancelled classes will function normally once a routine is established and both students and faculty find a sense of comfort. Although she feels it is unfortunate that the weather did not favor Monday night classes, she said, “The last thing anyone wants to do is to cancel or delay the start of classes so this is a decision we take very seriously. We weigh all the factors and want to keep at the forefront the health and safety of our students, faculty, staff and other employees.” Nagy feels that the University properly uses the available data in order to make an informed decision as a response to the forecast – which she believes can be both predictable and unpredictable.
“The University has made decisions pretty quickly this year, although it was a pretty late call on Monday, Feb. 2 because the roads were terrible at 3:45 when classes were dismissed. All in all, though, I am happy with the University’s concern for the students,” said Szkodny.
Moriarty warns students that just because the campus is open, as it was on Feb. 2, students don’t need to feel pressured to attend class if they don’t feel comfortable driving. “If the weather doesn’t permit for [travel] in your area, be reasonable. Talk to your professors, they are there for you,” she assured.
“The situation is tough for professors and students alike. Students are under pressure to perform well in class, and professors are under pressure to deliver a thoughtful and thorough course,” said Chapman. “I believe we will be able to accomplish the duties in our respective roles despite the somewhat shortened semester.”
Allocco concurred, “The University, as a learning institution, has a responsibility to maintain the integrity of the education it’s providing. This means that if a number of classes are cancelled in a given semester, faculty and students need to be creative and flexible in their efforts to meet the course objectives, so the quality of the education isn’t called into question.”
PHOTO COURTESY of Monmouth University
