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Colleges from the Ivy League to two-year schools have moved all or some of their instruction online this year. (Eh, you know why). This can feel extra unfair for students who’d been looking forward to, say, living in a dorm or asking for help from the cutie sitting next to them instead of, like, their dads.
There’s a fine line between helping your kid manage a school year they never wanted and helicopter parenting a grown-ass adult. But if your student comes to you looking for guidance, it’s a good idea to have tips on-hand to help them navigate virtual college.
Michelle Hagan-Short has taught classes both online and in person throughout her career. She’s an assistant dean at Ivy Tech Community College Fort Wayne and Warsaw in Indiana, and this year, every class on her roster is online.
She shared some tips for parents to pass along to students looking to make the most of their virtual semester. Or year. Or decade (I’m kidding, I think).
Attend office hours
Just because students and profs might not be on campus together doesn’t mean the same amount of help isn’t there. Hagan-Short holds office hours like she would any other semester—they’re just on Zoom.
Let’s say Emily “shows up” to office hours, but Hagan-Short is currently with Michael. She’ll wait until she finishes with Michael before allowing Emily in her “office,” which maintains the privacy of a one-on-one meeting. If Emily makes an appointment, she won’t need to wait.
Be familiar with the learning platform’s features
Most schools use an online learning platform like Blackboard or Canvas, or maybe their own proprietary services like IvyLearn, which is in use at Hagan-Short’s school. Whatever the platform, be sure your student is familiar with it. They should spend time in it clicking around and seeing what’s available.
Hagan-Short points out that IvyLearn lets students in a class easily message others in the class. If your student is looking for a study group, for example, this is a simple way to put one together.
And it usually works. David Seybert, who was a senior at the University of Massachusetts Lowell in the spring, told the college’s blog:
Usually, in bigger online classes, if you check the roster, you’re bound to know at least a person or two. But even if you don’t, it’s easy to email a note to someone saying, “Hey, I’m in this class. Could you help me with this problem? I’d appreciate it.” People are pretty likely to help you out.
Ask for help
Curious about how to join a student leadership group? A study group? This is not the time for shyness: You’re going to have to speak up.
“You may not have that ‘sitting in a physical space’ (option), but I believe those connections are available,” Hagan-Short says. “(Students) just need to reach out to someone—faculty, an advisor—at the institution to help make those connections.”
Check your email
It sounds simple—duh, of course students should check their email—but email isn’t exactly the most-used communication platform among college students. And yes, any student during any school year should log into their email accounts at least every 48 hours, Hagan-Short says. But this is especially true during a virtual semester.
Email is how your school will let you know of campus news and events. Sure, the career fair might not be held in the student center this year, but students can probably still attend virtually and meet with potential employers via video chat. Students might not get to sit next to an advisor to review their resume, but they can still attend a virtual resume writing workshop and connect with experts who can help.
And there’s no way to know these events are occurring, Hagan-Short points out, if students ignore their email accounts.
Try to be positive
Hagan-Short highlights two points of concern for parents right now: their students’ well-being and getting a quality education.
Many schools will have health resources in place to help with the former concern, but they also have the experience necessary to help with the latter. Many schools have been offering virtual options for years, so they’re familiar with the technology required.
“We leveraged that early,” Hagan-Short says of her school. “We were in a good position to transition to more of an online, virtual platform. Students are getting the education they need. They’re learning the course content.”
As school starts back up, it’s important to keep that in mind that everyone, including faculty members, are doing the best they can.
“For most of the students that have had to take an online option when that’s not what they wanted,” Hagan-Short says, “I do believe faculty members are working hard to make sure connections are still being made in the classroom.”
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