Alternative Learning Solutions During A Pandemic
University of Maryland Global Campus
Alternative Learning Solutions During A Pandemic
Even in the best of times, change management is a multi-faceted and difficult process,
which takes time, effort, and effective leadership to achieve successful and sustainable results.
The unforeseen consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic are forcing higher education
institutions to adapt and change its operations quickly. Nearly 90% of schools engaged in some
form of emergency virtual distance education to conduct or complete the spring term (Lederman,
2020). Without much preparation, most colleges and universities are now actively working
through a wide range of options on how to deliver instruction starting in the fall of 2020. Higher
education administrators expect to implement effective and sustainable change for their
institution using the key principles of leadership, teamwork, and innovation. Alternative learning
options need thorough analysis to determine the impacts each approach would have on the
educational process on a case by case basis. The common goal in mind is to find the best option
that maximizes effective education of all students, while maintaining the health and safety of
all parties involved in the learning process.
Back to Normal
Life returning to normal following a large-scale pandemic is generally a broad concept in
scope; what that new normal is, remains to be seen. The policy of "social distancing" encouraged
around the world during the COVID-19 pandemic illustrates this management strategy. By
limiting social interaction, people can lower their chances of infection and of infecting others
(Madsen, 2020). Expectations to resume face-to-face instruction in the fall for education
, institutions will rely on following all CDC, state, and local health guidelines in place, such as
social distancing (Ambers, 2020). Hope remains that the fall semester will look normal like any
other fall semester. Having classes near full enrollment capacity, residential students returning to
campus, commuting students participating in classes on campus, and students enrolling in co-
curricular activities seems unlikely at this point. At each stage, colleges must be open to re-
evaluating plans as facts and circumstances surrounding COVID-19 change (Ambers, 2020).
Changes in Timing
Most colleges start in late August or early September, but institutions could push the fall
semester back to an October or November start with the mindset of having in-person classes.
Should another wave of COVID-19 start when flu season begins, institutions would have the
flexibility to convert to online only classes and use the time that would normally be winter break
as part of the semester (Maloney & Kim, 2020). If the semester were to start late, most likely the
learning schedule would be more intense since there is less time to cover the same material. This
brings a disadvantage to new students, existing students, and staff members who need hands-on
structure to teach and learn. First time college students may not be familiar with online learning
or have the proper time management skills to get the most out of this approach. On the other
hand, faculty and staff must plan how to make a condensed curriculum for the fall should the
semester start late or be entirely online.
Moving the fall semester to the spring semester may be an option if the school is set on
in-person learning. This would be a time-based college plan that starts students in the spring as
their first semester for the year. In this scenario, students would be engaged in school from
January through August with little break time in between. Schools that cannot accommodate
social distancing in the classroom or campus, or schools that may not have a full-time online
platform to support the entire student body, may go this route (Maloney & Kim, 2020). Prevalent
drawbacks are that institutions would lose fall tuition money and revenue. The California State
University of Maryland Global Campus
Alternative Learning Solutions During A Pandemic
Even in the best of times, change management is a multi-faceted and difficult process,
which takes time, effort, and effective leadership to achieve successful and sustainable results.
The unforeseen consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic are forcing higher education
institutions to adapt and change its operations quickly. Nearly 90% of schools engaged in some
form of emergency virtual distance education to conduct or complete the spring term (Lederman,
2020). Without much preparation, most colleges and universities are now actively working
through a wide range of options on how to deliver instruction starting in the fall of 2020. Higher
education administrators expect to implement effective and sustainable change for their
institution using the key principles of leadership, teamwork, and innovation. Alternative learning
options need thorough analysis to determine the impacts each approach would have on the
educational process on a case by case basis. The common goal in mind is to find the best option
that maximizes effective education of all students, while maintaining the health and safety of
all parties involved in the learning process.
Back to Normal
Life returning to normal following a large-scale pandemic is generally a broad concept in
scope; what that new normal is, remains to be seen. The policy of "social distancing" encouraged
around the world during the COVID-19 pandemic illustrates this management strategy. By
limiting social interaction, people can lower their chances of infection and of infecting others
(Madsen, 2020). Expectations to resume face-to-face instruction in the fall for education
, institutions will rely on following all CDC, state, and local health guidelines in place, such as
social distancing (Ambers, 2020). Hope remains that the fall semester will look normal like any
other fall semester. Having classes near full enrollment capacity, residential students returning to
campus, commuting students participating in classes on campus, and students enrolling in co-
curricular activities seems unlikely at this point. At each stage, colleges must be open to re-
evaluating plans as facts and circumstances surrounding COVID-19 change (Ambers, 2020).
Changes in Timing
Most colleges start in late August or early September, but institutions could push the fall
semester back to an October or November start with the mindset of having in-person classes.
Should another wave of COVID-19 start when flu season begins, institutions would have the
flexibility to convert to online only classes and use the time that would normally be winter break
as part of the semester (Maloney & Kim, 2020). If the semester were to start late, most likely the
learning schedule would be more intense since there is less time to cover the same material. This
brings a disadvantage to new students, existing students, and staff members who need hands-on
structure to teach and learn. First time college students may not be familiar with online learning
or have the proper time management skills to get the most out of this approach. On the other
hand, faculty and staff must plan how to make a condensed curriculum for the fall should the
semester start late or be entirely online.
Moving the fall semester to the spring semester may be an option if the school is set on
in-person learning. This would be a time-based college plan that starts students in the spring as
their first semester for the year. In this scenario, students would be engaged in school from
January through August with little break time in between. Schools that cannot accommodate
social distancing in the classroom or campus, or schools that may not have a full-time online
platform to support the entire student body, may go this route (Maloney & Kim, 2020). Prevalent
drawbacks are that institutions would lose fall tuition money and revenue. The California State
