作者：辛西娅·休伯特

2021年3月26日

 

去年，为了应对不断飙升的冠状病毒，教室关闭，校园清空，博彩平台陷入了不确定性。

Many faculty members hadn’t taught an online course. 很少有员工精通Zoom会议。 一些学生回到家里，宿舍狭小，电脑设备过时，网络服务不可靠。

“We were still trying to figure out what the impact of the pandemic would be on us,” said Ed Mills, vice president for 学生事务. “It was a pretty chaotic situation.”

Ultimately, however, the University emerged from the chaos, navigating its developing “new normal” so that today it can claim many successes in the face of unprecedented challenges.

在Sac州立大学出于安全考虑转向虚拟工作、学习和教学环境一年后，该校的入学人数依然强劲。 在大流行期间，只有不到100名学生辍学。 课程负担和绩点保持稳定。 In those ways, 这所大学似乎在逆全国潮流而动.

囊状态’s spring 2021 enrollment, 29,557 students, fell just short of the record enrollment set in spring 2020. 此外，于2020年秋季首次使用的大黄蜂发射调度系统被认为有助于将新生的课程负荷稳定在14个单元左右。 同样令人鼓舞的是，毕业沙皇詹姆斯·德拉格纳说，他相信哈佛大学将继续提高其不断上升的四年制毕业率。

这一切都发生在一场百年一遇的危机中。

“I’m really proud of our faculty and staff,” said Steve Perez, provost and vice president for 学术事务. “They have been working really hard under very difficult circumstances. We’ve learned how to pivot and move forward.”

现在，该大学正在为欢迎萨克州立社区重返校园的可能性做准备。

该校校长尼尔森（Robert S. nelson）说，到秋季，如果病毒继续减弱，疫苗接种率继续上升，通常容纳3万多人的校园可能会以50%左右的运力运转。

“It feels like we can finally see the light at the end of this awfully long tunnel. 当然，这还有很长的路要走。 But it’s there.”

Strict safety measures are likely to remain in place, including mandated face coverings and physical distancing, Perez said, adding that he is cautiously optimistic that “we’re going to be a lot more populated come fall, and then we can start heading toward normalcy.”

佩雷斯和其他人不仅回忆起一年前病毒肆虐时他们所感受到的焦虑和不确定性，还回忆起随后的调整。

“Knowing that the switch to virtual instruction and services was imminent, we had to quickly figure out the logistics, and that was not easy,” Mills said. “Most of our staff had never been in a Zoom meeting. 我们必须考虑如何与学生沟通。 我们必须考虑设备、计算机连接和容量。 I knew we could do it, but I worried about whether we could do it quickly enough to accommodate our faculty, staff and students.”

2020年3月12日，尼尔森和他的政府打电话让几乎所有人回家。 教师们只有几天的时间来准备远程授课。 囊状态’s Department of Information Resources and Technology (IRT) worked to secure laptops and internet “hotspots” for students, supporting those who were to be working remotely and assisting faculty with online teaching.

The switch to virtual instruction was a bombshell for faculty, many of whom were concerned the conversion would stunt students’ academic and career development. 教授的课程包括实验和其他实践学习经验，这一点尤其令人担忧。 实习和实地考察突然停止了。

“The first thing I worried about was equity issues my students might face,” said Kimberly Mulligan, an associate professor of Biology. “Would students have consistent access to a computer and reliable internet access? Would they have a quiet space at their home where they could participate with their classes or study?”

她想知道如何才能最好地衡量学生在在线课程中的学习情况，以及实时授课和录音授课是否更有效。

教授们坚持彼此分享想法和信息。 一些人使用Slack等通信平台进行大型讲座课程。 他们培养学生之间的同伴互动，鼓励虚拟咨询，并向学生推荐校园资源，帮助他们应对急剧变化的环境。

 

Biology Professor Ronald Coleman, who runs 囊状态’s Evolutionary Ecology of Fishes Laboratory, assembled and delivered aquariums to students who were scattered across the region so that they could continue their research. 囊状态’s pro bono Physical Therapy lab used baby dolls during remote lessons to help students develop hands-on skills. 音乐学院开始尝试使用虚拟平台，让唱诗班实时合唱。 护理学院努力为学生寻找临床机会。

The University also used funding from the first federal COVID relief bill to pay for 教!在线夏令营。 The program, led by the Center for Teaching & Learning in partnership with IRT and the College of Continuing Education, helped improve faculty online skills and emphasized best practices.

Still, despite creative, successful efforts across the campus, the pandemic has undoubtedly created a “skills gap” that faculty members will have to address in the future, Mulligan said.

在COVID改变了Sac州立大学的生活一年多后，大学社区的成员正在思考他们最怀念大流行前的时光，并梦想着一个再次充满活力的校园。

“I miss the newsroom,” State Hornet Editor Max Connor said during a recent Zoom session with Nelsen and Associated Students 公司。 诺亚·马蒂总统。 马蒂怀念在校园里漫步，看到图书馆广场上发生的事情，以及在去上课的路上进行非正式讨论的时光。 尼尔森渴望再次亲自观看棒球、垒球和其他运动，并坐在西贡湾餐厅吃一碗越南粉。

“I just miss being with my students in the classroom,” Coleman said. “I miss their energy and hearing them talk about their goals,” things that cannot quite be replicated online.

当校园开始重新拥挤时，教室看起来会有所不同。 由于保持社交距离的要求，每个房间的学生数量都会减少。 有些班级可能会在传统上不用于教学的房间里上课，包括在大学联盟里，有些地方可能会安装有机玻璃屏障。

“There will be a lot of hand sanitizer and wipes,” Perez said.

“As we go through the summer, we will have a better idea about how it will look,” he said. “We will have a road map, but we realize that things could change drastically. We will follow the guidelines of health professionals.”

Coleman said he is wary of expectations of an immediate return to “business as usual.”

“We are going to have to be cautious,” he said. “This is not the end game” for the virus.

尽管如此，对一些人来说，今年春天感觉像是一个新的开始。

经过教务处的批准，以及对covid - 19安全协议的审查，数量非常有限的教授及其学生已获准返回他们的研究实验室。 训练有素的护理专业学生正在校内诊所接种COVID-19疫苗。 Many members of the classes of 2020 and 2021 are planning to participate in the May “CARmencement,” an on-campus alternative to traditional commencement, made necessary by ongoing restrictions in place to help ensure safety as the pandemic persists.

乐观情绪似乎正在回归。

“It feels like we can finally see the light at the end of this awfully long tunnel,” Mulligan said. “当然，这还有很长的路要走。 But it’s there.”