Hey folks,
I hope you are all doing well. I’m sure you are all aware that Penn State is in the process of implementing numerous strategies to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 when we return this fall, and it requires every campus to do some juggling with their fall schedules in order to account for both logistical concerns as well as the health and safety needs of our students, professors, and staff. Greater Allegheny is no exception, so I wanted to make you aware of a few changes to the fall schedule for Communications and also provide you with some important background information and a few reminders.
Fall Schedule – Some Context
As both a professor and the Communications Program Coordinator, I can tell you that it’s been a difficult process for your professors to figure out how we want to deliver our courses this fall, whether in Communications or any of our other programs. Not everything is decided yet because there a lot of different factors involved in the decision-making process, some of which are entirely out of our hands. For starters, classrooms across all Penn State campuses will be reconfigured this fall to allow for social distancing which means that larger courses, and even some smaller ones, will need to be offered in some kind of hybrid format that’s a combination of in-person and remote instruction (via Zoom). Greater Allegheny has smaller courses than most Penn State campuses which will be beneficial for many courses, especially ones that require in-person instruction, such as science labs. However, we won’t know exactly what teaching method, or ‘deliver mode’ (in person, remote/zoom, hybrid, web), is possible for certain courses until some of those classroom logistics are figured out by University Park, which ultimately calls the shots. Another important factor, though, is that professors also need to weigh the pedagogical advantages & disadvantages of different course delivery options. Simply put, just because it’s possible to teach in person this fall doesn’t necessarily mean it will automatically translate to a better learning experience, when one accounts for the modified classrooms, rigid seating arrangements, and so on. Certain classes can be offered remotely in a more effective manner that pose less burdens, particularly when it comes to working in small groups and engaging in discussions.
Of course, the biggest issue for everyone is obviously the dangers posed by the virus itself, even if we take all the right precautions on our campus. Like many of you, there are professors who have different health issues or familial responsibilities that might not typically pose a problem in everyday life, but are now factors that put them (or people in their care) at extremely high risk for hospitalization or death if they were to contract coronavirus. It’s for this reason that some of your professors have chosen to deliver all of their courses remotely this fall, myself included. And it’s worth noting that many professors across Penn State have urged the university to reconsider parts of its back-to-campus plans simply because they believe it is far too risky to endanger the lives of their students when there are viable and effective alternative options, including Zoom and web courses. Unfortunately, this is no longer a theoretical debate anymore, given that a Penn State student at UP died last week from coronavirus complications. It’s scary for me to think about it and I’m sure it is for many of you too.
At the risk of inundating you with information, I just wanted to give you some context for understanding why some of your courses will be taught in person this fall, and others will not. There are a lot of factors at play and, as I said above, there are a lot of serious concerns driving the decisions being made by the university, by Greater Allegheny, and by your professors. We all wish that we could just go back to school in August and have everything return to normal. Personally, nothing would make me happier, and I think my colleagues would agree. But, unfortunately, that is simply not the reality we’re living in right now – at least not in the US.
Just know that your professors are here for you, we care about you, and we’re all trying hard to simultaneously figure out what’s going to work best for our courses and how we can help keep each other safe and healthy. Because, ultimately, that’s our primary concern heading into the fall semester.
Fall Schedule – Specific Changes
- COMM 430 WILL REPLACE COMM 403
This summer, a minor change was made to the Communication degree that gives us more flexibility with one of our requirements. Consequently, I will be teaching COMM 430 (Mass Media & Politics) this fall instead of COMM 403 (Law of Mass Communications) since it will fulfill the same degree requirement. Once COMM 430 is officially added to the schedule on Lionpath, which should happen this week, I ask that everyone who is currently registered in COMM 403 please sign up for COMM 430 as soon as possible. Once you are registered in COMM 430, you can drop COMM 403. Anyone else can also sign up for the course, so long as you didn’t take COMM 403 with me last year (it will be like repeating the same exact course). - COMM 412 WILL REPLACE COMM 251
It’s been four years since we offered COMM 412 (Sports, Media & Society), so it will be offered this fall instead of COMM 251 (Nature of Media). The course will be offered at the same day & time that was reserved for COMM 251 (Th 2:30-5:30), so it won’t affect your COMM/CAS course schedule. This change should also be updated in Lionpath this week, and I encourage anyone who’s interested to sign up! FYI, here’s what the course looked like the last time it was offered: https://sites.psu.edu/comm412/.
Reminders
- MAKE SURE YOU ARE ENROLLED
If you are not currently scheduled for all of your fall courses, please get in touch with your faculty advisor and do so ASAP. At this time, it’s really important that the school knows how many people are enrolled in each fall course because it can affect both where and how courses may be offered (since classrooms need to be modified to keep everyone socially distanced). Beyond that, it’s really helpful if your Comm professors can get reliable estimates of the enrollment in their fall courses because it helps us figure out how to tweak our assignments & activities to best suit the size of the class. - REQUEST HELP WITH INTERNET ACCESS IF NEEDED
In addition to the courses at Greater Allegheny that will delivered remotely this semester, the last weeks of the fall semester will be entirely conducted via Zoom (Thanksgiving week until winter break). If you have any issues with reliable internet access at your home, please get in touch with someone in IT as soon as possible to make them aware of your situation so that we can assist you. The transition to remote teaching last semester was hectic, to say the least, and there wasn’t a lot of time to help folks address their connectivity issues at home. This time around is different because we have adequate time to plan and assist you, if you need it. There’s no shame in requesting help, as there are many reasons why folks run into problems with internet access at home. So please inquire about this ASAP if you need assistance. You can reach Greater Allegheny’s IT department at: ga-helpdesk@lists.psu.edu. - CHECK YOUR PSU EMAIL
Given that all colleges and universities are actively responding to conditions that are largely out of their control, it’s important for you all to check your Penn State email on a regular basis so that you’re staying on top of recent announcements from Greater Allegheny and/or your professors.
Please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me if you have any questions or concerns.
Best regards,
Zack Furness
Communications Program Coordinator