College parents...fall semester?

[Southernmiss]

I have 3 students at same college.

Move in date for freshmen is August 15th. School starts Aug. 24. Kids have schedules for classes, whether in person or virtual.

Our freshman will share a dorm with a roommate and their own bathroom. Other 2 live in apartments off campus.

We don't know much else. Universities in our state have until June 30th to publish their plans.

The campus is 5 hours away. So no commuting.

 

[TraceyDisney2008]

If your daughter is thinking of traveling back and forth look into a hotel near the school, my daughters last symester in school it worked out cheaper to just rent a room for a night every week so she could go to her classes 2 days a week.

 

[FigmentSpark]

What university??? And what sport?

I haven't heard of any official NCAA cancellations, and our football team is already practicing.

Soccer. We're in Canada, so things are different. Although, I believe they had been planning to play some events in the U.S. Then again, the border is closed right now and who knows how long that will go on for.

 

[texaslover]

My son goes to the University of Arkansas and will graduate in December. So far, they are going back as normal but may have some hybrid classes based on numbers. He only has 4 classes to finish and they are upper level and specialized so small numbers, he feels like they will be in person though we don't know for sure. They have said the facilities like student union and gym will open with some distancing requirements and extra cleaning. They have not said anything about finishing at Thanksgiving so assuming they will do a full semester. They only got the Thursday/Friday of Thanksgiving off in the past and many students just stayed on campus so maybe that is the reason.

One of my best friend's son is going to be a freshman at a northeastern college and has a full scholarship for soccer. They have put out the schedule and said they are playing, just maybe with empty stands. He goes to campus in early August to start practices. He will still have most classes in person, maybe some hybrids per the latest info.

 

[mjkacmom]

The thing students (and counselors) have to be really careful about is whether the courses transfer to the University level 100%.

Not whether the credits transfer, but do the courses transfer to fulfill mandatory requirements?

In other words, if you take English 101 at the community college level, does that apply directly to the English 101 requirement at the university?

Or is the 3 hour credit counted as an elective, and you still have to take the required course at the university level?

In Florida, we have 4-5 different sets of requirements for graduation. Some courses count for 3 different requirements; some don't count at all. Very important to know all of the minute details.

This is very important. My daughter is taking a calculus course this summer, it took her a while to find one that would meet the matrix of her university, at a CC, not in our county. Her advisor had to sign off on it. Her OOS college then decided to offer in state tuition for online courses this summer, so she’s taking it there, higher cost, but she will get a letter grade instead of pass/fail, and it will count towards graduate school.

 

[mrs. magoo]

The thing students (and counselors) have to be really careful about is whether the courses transfer to the University level 100%.

Not whether the credits transfer, but do the courses transfer to fulfill mandatory requirements?

In other words, if you take English 101 at the community college level, does that apply directly to the English 101 requirement at the university?

Or is the 3 hour credit counted as an elective, and you still have to take the required course at the university level?

In Florida, we have 4-5 different sets of requirements for graduation. Some courses count for 3 different requirements; some don't count at all. Very important to know all of the minute details.

I agree with this absolutely. All because you earned your associates degree or spent a year or a semester in Community college does not mean those credits will transfer for anything more than electives. In NY my daughter's friend spent a semester at a community college and is transferring to a state school and only 2 of the classes are transferring as course credits. The others are electives so even though she should be a sophomore did fall semester in another state she will need to stay an extra year at the school for her major. So be careful and check with the college you want to attend to see what is transferable and what is not.

 

[HeatherC]

I agree with this absolutely. All because you earned your associates degree or spent a year or a semester in Community college does not mean those credits will transfer for anything more than electives. In NY my daughter's friend spent a semester at a community college and is transferring to a state school and only 2 of the classes are transferring as course credits. The others are electives so even though she should be a sophomore did fall semester in another state she will need to stay an extra year at the school for her major. So be careful and check with the college you want to attend to see what is transferable and what is not.

Luckily, in our state (MA), there is an agreement between the community colleges and state universities. If you earn an associates degree, you are guaranteed admission to a state university for the final two years. It really is a great way for some students to save a boatload of money the first two years.

 

[mrs. magoo]

Luckily, in our state (MA), there is an agreement between the community colleges and state universities. If you earn an associates degree, you are guaranteed admission to a state university for the final two years. It really is a great way for some students to save a boatload of money the first two years.

In NY we have the 2+2 program that many kids take advantage of to save money. In order to get the full credit though students are already accepted at the school they plan to transfer to after completing their associates degree. That way all the credits can transfer. In NY there is also free tuition at state schools for some students whose families meet the income guidelines. I believe that some private schools are going to have to close as a result of the pandemic. That would take choices away from kids and make state schools much harder to get into causing more kids to be turned away. The whole thing is a losing proposal for the colleges. If they go back people are going to get mad when kids get sick and if they don't go back or go online people are going to lose their jobs and colleges are going to close.

 

[JimMIA]

Further on transfer credits for Florida families (including OOS students attending Florida state universities/colleges): Note that these requirements do NOT apply to private colleges/universities in Florida -- only to state schools.

Here are the requirements for graduation from a Florida state school for this year's entering class:

• Florida State Core Courses - one required in each of the Five Foundations (Communication, Historical & Cultural, Mathematical, Social, and Science)
• GEP - General Education Program - one required in each of 12 general education areas
• Gordon Rule Writing - four courses required in various study area courses with significant writing requirements
• Gordon Rule Math - 2 courses required from math options
• Civic Literacy - either US History or American National Government

In some cases, courses may be two-fers or even three-fers -- meaning one course satisfies more than one requirement. For example, DD has registered for a general music course which satisfies 1) A Florida Core requirement for Historical and Cultural, 2) GEP #5 (which is mostly humanities courses), and 3) a Gordon Rule Writing requirement. 3 for 1!

These requirements aren't difficult to meet, but you do have to be paying attention to course selection or you'll end up having to take additional classes. And as mentioned is posts above, it is NOT a given that courses taken one place will meet the requirements elsewhere.

Most of our former community colleges are now full-fledged 4-year colleges, but many students still do two years at home and then transfer for the final two years. They need to pay attention.

 

[soccerdad72]

I don't think any schools are purposefully holding out information on anyone. I think many of them are likely waiting from guidance from state health offices before making too many announcement of their plans. It's better than announcing one set of plans and then having to roll back when they find contradictory information. All schools would like to have students on campus - not for monetary purposes (although I'm sure that's a factor), but because it's part of the college experience.

 

[PattnFmly]

Both DS's go to the same college. At this moment, we have only been told it will be a mix of online and in person classes. Dorms just have been giving updates that they are working on their plans. But both DS's are also in marching band. And they have been told that marching band will occur, and they will have band camp in August in some fashion, but they will not spend the week in the dorms. We are just waiting.

 

[Kae]

I don't think any schools are purposefully holding out information on anyone. I think many of them are likely waiting from guidance from state health offices before making too many announcement of their plans. It's better than announcing one set of plans and then having to roll back when they find contradictory information. All schools would like to have students on campus - not for monetary purposes (although I'm sure that's a factor), but because it's part of the college experience.

I agree. I am thrilled that Purdue has Mitch Daniels as President. Right now I feel sorry for the K-12 families because they are so up in the air in my area.

 

[foodiddiedoo]

How are online finals a thing that actually works for all classes? Forgive me, I have a degree in Mechanical Engineering and can't fathom how a course with high level math could be accomplished without being able to write out formulas (often of which are very difficult to type on a keyboard due to using non standard symbols or Greek letters). It seems a fairly lousy proposal for students in STEM majors to have to do. Showing your work is often the only way to get partial credit and for a professor to show you where you went wrong in the process. Also, how is cheating prevented? I graduated back in 2006 when online courses were just starting to take off. When I started a master's I had several online courses and to me they seemed like anyone could cheat, or the professors had to make each test "open book".

 

[soccerdad72]

How are online finals a thing that actually works for all classes? Forgive me, I have a degree in Mechanical Engineering and can't fathom how a course with high level math could be accomplished without being able to write out formulas (often of which are very difficult to type on a keyboard due to using non standard symbols or Greek letters). It seems a fairly lousy proposal for students in STEM majors to have to do. Showing your work is often the only way to get partial credit and for a professor to show you where you went wrong in the process. Also, how is cheating prevented? I graduated back in 2006 when online courses were just starting to take off. When I started a master's I had several online courses and to me they seemed like anyone could cheat, or the professors had to make each test "open book".

Using my MechE major son as an example, very few of his classes this spring did finals, but rather, had projects or papers required at the end of the semester. His math course did have a final (Differential Equations), but I'm not sure how they did it. All my son said was that the quizzes and tests were a lot harder once they went virtual because the professor knew they'd have access to materials, so he made them less process and more practical use.

I do know that there is test proctoring software out there where students log in at a certain time and are monitored by a live proctor, so that is an option for some schools.

 

[foodiddiedoo]

Using my MechE major son as an example, very few of his classes this spring did finals, but rather, had projects or papers required at the end of the semester. His math course did have a final (Differential Equations), but I'm not sure how they did it. All my son said was that the quizzes and tests were a lot harder once they went virtual because the professor knew they'd have access to materials, so he made them less process and more practical use.

I do know that there is test proctoring software out there where students log in at a certain time and are monitored by a live proctor, so that is an option for some schools.

Thanks, I was more curious than anything and that makes sense. I'm sure there's some software too that requires only the test window to be open on the computer, but people could always look at their phones. A live proctor involves video monitoring?

 

[soccerdad72]

Thanks, I was more curious than anything and that makes sense. I'm sure there's some software too that requires only the test window to be open on the computer, but people could always look at their phones. A live proctor involves video monitoring?

The software (ProctorU) the school I work at does have video monitoring, yes. They can look to see if you're looking down for long periods of time (e.g. looking at phone, notes, etc.) and that you're sitting at your computer the whole time.

 

[billlaurie]

How are online finals a thing that actually works for all classes? Forgive me, I have a degree in Mechanical Engineering and can't fathom how a course with high level math could be accomplished without being able to write out formulas (often of which are very difficult to type on a keyboard due to using non standard symbols or Greek letters). It seems a fairly lousy proposal for students in STEM majors to have to do. Showing your work is often the only way to get partial credit and for a professor to show you where you went wrong in the process. Also, how is cheating prevented? I graduated back in 2006 when online courses were just starting to take off. When I started a master's I had several online courses and to me they seemed like anyone could cheat, or the professors had to make each test "open book".

My son took some community college math classes and AP Calc and statistics. He had to write and answer the questions, take a picture, and upload. Very stressful for him, especially with time constraints.

 

[billlaurie]

My son will be a freshman and as of right now, the school he is attending says they are having in person classes, beginning mid August and ending at Thanksgiving. He has selected a dorm mate and been assigned a dorm. If anything were to change, I would seriously consider the CC route. He took some courses this year so already has credits. He hated the online end of his senior year and without the traditional college experience, we will save money and do CC if it is online.

 

[palavra]

Our situation is a little different because my daughter is technically going to be a high school senior next year. However, she goes to a Collegiate charter school that is located on the campus of a state college, and most of her classes will be college classes. She already has nearly 30 college credits. So, while she would not live on campus, we recently found out most of the college classes are going to be online for the fall semester. We are disappointed as this will keep her from seeing friends and participating in clubs at the school. She will have two hybrid classes that will allow some interaction. We are certainly hoping that the classes are back on campus by spring, and that prom and graduation will take place.

 

[mjkacmom]

Thanks, I was more curious than anything and that makes sense. I'm sure there's some software too that requires only the test window to be open on the computer, but people could always look at their phones. A live proctor involves video monitoring?

Proctor U, someone watches you take the exam, lots of rules. I heard it was a bit of a mess since so many colleges used them, a lot seemed ill trained. For my high school kids calculus exam, they were given two big problems, I think there were 4 different groups of similar problems, my kids had different ones.