A less-crowded UA commences an odd semester

Kassandra Salazar (left) speaks Tuesday, April 5, 2016, to a group of 11th-grade students from Heritage High School in Rogers as they walk past Old Main while on a tour of the university campus in Fayetteville.
Kassandra Salazar (left) speaks Tuesday, April 5, 2016, to a group of 11th-grade students from Heritage High School in Rogers as they walk past Old Main while on a tour of the university campus in Fayetteville.

FAYETTEVILLE -- Fall semester classes began Monday at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville with the campus noticeably less bustling than in past years.

A majority of course sections -- 2,733 out of 4,638, or 59% -- normally taught in person have shifted to remote instruction this fall, UA spokesman John Post said.

The percentage more than doubled from last month, when Post said about 28% of fall courses were set for online-only instruction. In July, Post had said the percentage "would likely continue to change somewhat as needed."

Other courses are in person or involve a hybrid model that mixes face-to-face and online participation.

"I feel like that was just a really good option for them to be offering, like not forcing you to be here but not forcing you to be online either," said Alondra Altamirano, 20, on campus to attend a class, Animals and World History.

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Post said "nearly" every class is being recorded and made available for online viewing, with exceptions for some courses on "technical topics" such as studio art.

Even with campus less busy, for many the day brought a return to in-person instruction for the first time since March, when covid-19 led UA and other colleges to shift to just online classes.

Carter Sparks, a sophomore psychology major from Pryor, Okla., said his biggest concern about the fall is a covid-19 outbreak leading the university to move to exclusively online.

"I just got here and just got comfortable. So I wouldn't want to mess with all that again," said Sparks, a resident of UA's Adohi Hall, adding that he'd look to continue living on campus no matter the format for classes.

On Monday, UA updated its covid-19 data dashboard. The campus added 24 covid-19 cases in the seven-day period that ended Sunday, a total that includes tests done on campus, by the state Department of Health and self-reported results. Counted are "individuals who may have been on campus this semester," according to UA.

Previously, UA disclosed five positive cases identified Aug. 10-16. The university has conducted 923 campus covid-19 tests since Aug. 10, according to Monday's update, a total that includes athletic department tests of students on Razorback teams.

Preliminary enrollment totals are not yet available. Last fall, the university had 27,559 students, according to state data.

UA has said its plans for reopening take into account covid-19 cases occurring on campus, with measures including quarantine and isolation housing as well as contact tracing available to reduce the likelihood of a campus outbreak.

Last week a few high-profile universities, including the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, cited rising case counts in announcing that they were dropping or at least delaying plans for in-person instruction.

On the UA campus Monday, safety measures could be seen everywhere, most noticeably the requirement to generally wear a face covering indoors. Measures taken to encourage physical distancing also were evident.

In dining areas of the university's student union, some booths were closed and some seats marked with red tape to keep distance between students. Yet crowding did not appear to be an issue at midday, with open seats available.

There also appeared to be plenty of space at UA's Center for Multicultural and Diversity Education.

"It's been slower than, I would say, last fall," said Sarah Draine, director of UA's College Access Initiative. By midday, about 25 students had walked in, she said.

But while "today it seems like we've had plenty of space available for people," Draine said she expects students will need places to go on campus for support with remote instruction and potentially new online learning tools.

"I think they'll get the swing of it, and they'll figure it out with proper support from their instructors," Draine said.

In some areas of campus, changes are not only about physical distancing and increased cleaning, but also limiting access.

Usually, UA's music building "is open completely to any student on campus," said Justin R. Hunter, the music department's director of admissions and operations.

That's no longer the case, as practice rooms have been limited to music majors to meet their needs, Hunter said, remarking on how there were "not a lot of people here" in the building Monday.

In general, "we're trying to encourage students to stay out of the building as much as possible," Hunter said, though a new reservation system does allow students access to rehearsal space if they need it.

"The majority of our instruction is remote right now," Hunter said.

Sparks, the sophomore from Oklahoma, said university requirements such as face coverings make sense.

"I don't think they're asking like too much of us," he said.

Reopening has also included reconfiguring classrooms to emphasize physical distancing.

"I didn't even think about that. But it's a good measure. Spreading us out, like, seating-wise," Sparks said, describing sections where students were not allowed to sit.

The day had gone "as best as it probably can, just with everything going on," he said.

Sparks, 20, said his schedule has him attending an in-person class every day, along with some online courses.

"I think that's a good mix of in-person and online," he said.

Altamirano, from Springdale, said her schedule has her taking five classes, with one meeting in person.

"I learn better face-to-face," said Altamirano, a junior. If it was up to her, "I'd have a good three out of five, for sure" in person, she said.

Sparks said he feels "pretty good" about steps taken by the university to reduce the chances of covid-19 transmission.

"I think the university is taking a lot of precautions that it should. I think it's one or two steps ahead. I'm always catching myself like, 'Oh, that's a good idea. I'm glad they're doing that,'" Sparks said.

Sushant Potdar, 27, a biology doctoral student from India, said he's "very skeptical" that the university can avoid problems with covid-19 when other campuses have had to switch to just online classes.

He said the pandemic and the earlier campus shutdown meant that he lost time he needed to continue his research. He said he could now face a delay in obtaining his degree.

But Potdar said he noticed the relative lack of students on campus Monday. In a pandemic, he said, it was perhaps a promising start to the semester.

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