A year ago, no one could have anticipated a pandemic that would force colleges to send students home early and finish the academic year through online, remote education.

The past several months have been a time of great uncertainty for higher education, both in terms of enrollment and revenue. And while the challenges have been many, Terre Hautes four colleges and universities have risen to the occasion and made changes that will benefit them, and students, moving forward.

Tribune-Star/Joseph C. GarzaTaking care of those on Zoom: Indiana State University student Hannah DeBlock serves as a teaching assistant and works with the Zoom students, answering or forwarding their questions or monitoring their answers delivered via chat to multiple choice questions during assistant professor Jim Davis' human physiology class on Sept. 3 on the ISU campus.

Under the guise of never waste a good crisis, I think we have learned some things as a part of the pandemic, said Rob Coons, president of Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. It required us to do some things online or think about the way we present things differently than we might otherwise have chosen to do.

Coons adds, I think thats been good. Thats had some advantages.

Indiana State University

In a lecture hall of Indiana State Universitys College of Health and Human Services, assistant professor Jim Davis taught his Human Physiology hybrid class not only to the 70 or so students there in person, but others attending online via Zoom. Part of the lesson dealt with reflexes and their role in nervous system function.

Periodically, he had to adjust cameras so the distance students could see what he had written on a board. One student watching via Zoom asked for a camera adjustment so they could better see Davis nonverbal language.

Nearby, student Hannah DeBlock served as a teaching assistant and worked with the Zoom students, answering or forwarding their questions or monitoring their answers delivered via chat to multiple choice questions.

The challenges are many, but the benefits are that students who arent in class for whatever reason can still participate, Davis said.

While it isnt my ideal method of teaching, I do think that I will always use Zoom in the future so that students who are sick, out of town, etc. have the ability to participate in a live lecture.

Among the challenges are small group discussion involving Zoom students. Also, with masking, I cant tell what my students are thinking, and I am struggling to learn student names which I believe makes it more difficult to foster that student-teacher relationship that is important for learning.

He has eliminated small group activities, which he said is unfortunate because it often brings on those light bulb moments.

Hes gone the extra mile to help students learn when they cant be in class. Over the summer, he created a series of 100 mini lectures that cover all of the material for the semester. That way if someone misses a lecture or doesnt understand a specific concept they can go to a video that just focuses on that one concept, he said.

Davis is one of many ISU faculty members working to provide a quality education to students in class, and those who may be out for various reasons that might include isolation or quarantine because of COVID.

Many ISU faculty have spent part of the summer planning for and redesigning courses to meet changes required because of the pandemic, said Molly Hare, director of the Faculty Center for Teaching Excellence.

They may maybe teaching a face-to-face class, but at the same time, they may also be teaching students online, real-time, via Zoom. And, they may have to tape the class for those who cant attend in-person or watch in real time.

Students who are in class one day may have to attend via Zoom another day because they are isolated with COVID or on quarantine. That greatly affects the ability to carry out that class plan. Faculty have to be flexible, nimble and be able to adjust to meet the needs of students, Hare said.

Every time they go into a face-to-face classroom, it looks different, she said.

They have to have a Plan A, Plan B and Plan C. They are doing triple the work in order to offer students a quality education. And its very tiring, she said. Thats triple the work, times four classes they might be teaching.

She describes it as mental gymnastics.

And, they may face barriers, including technology glitches, they didnt anticipate, yet have to try and overcome, she said.

In addition, several courses are hybrid, with both in-person and online components for all students in the class.

Its challenging and a lot of work. But at the same time, Faculty really care about the quality of education and want students to get the outcomes they deserve, Hare said.

Hare works with faculty at the center. Typically, the center isnt as active over the summer, but this past summer, faculty took advantage of sessions offered each day. A lot of faculty have really worked hard, Hare said.

Students are stressed as well, she said. Every class is different, and if the class is hybrid, students must pay attention to whether that day is in-person or via Zoom and how assignments should be submitted.

Among the benefits of pandemic-related changes are more electronic submissions and less paper.

Instruction techniques are changing for some classes. For example, a student may watch a prerecorded lesson on line, and then do the hands-on portion, or homework, in class, where they can get faculty assistance if needed. Its called a flipped classroom.

The center does individual consultations or meets with groups for a particular reason; it offers professional development. Our motto is inform, innovate and celebrate teaching, she said. We look at how to do things a new

Tribune-Star file/Joseph C. GarzaBless this ground: Sister Dawn Tomaszewski blesses the ground on which a new residence hall will be built before a groundbreaking ceremony Thursday, June 18, on the campus of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College.

The Woods

Despite the many uncertainties created by the pandemic, Dottie King, president of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College, believed the Woods still needed to keep making forward progress.

We thought, how can we even in the midst of these times continue to not just get through, but really make some significant strides with our progress, she said.

In spring, admissions staff came up with some innovative ways to reach students, including a virtual, live-streamed campus visit with about 300 students and parents logged in and watching.

We didnt get as big a class as we had planned on, but we still saw a modest increase from last year for the on campus program, King said. The freshman class increased about 11 percent. Total enrollment including on campus, graduate and online programs is about 1,075.

SMWC also plans to add programs, hopefully with funding through the Lilly Endowment. It plans to offer a doctoral program its first in global leadership. Given the pandemic, which affects countries across the globe, King considers it providential the college was considering such a program even prior to the pandemic.

COVID-19 has affirmed the need for such a program, in which people across the globe would work together to find solutions, rather than relying solely on government, she said.

The college also plans to offer a bachelors in exercise science, a continuation of its focus on health care. The college already has programs in nursing, kinesiology and health care administration.

The new programs will go forward with or without Lilly funding, but those funds would enable the college to proceed more quickly, King said.

The college also is building its first new residence hall since 1924. Currently, LeFer residence hall is approaching capacity. We have more graduate students inquiring about being residential. Right now we dont have that opportunity, King said.

The new residence hall will increase capacity for undergraduates, and also add the ability for graduate students to live on campus, she said.

The college also is offering graduate assistantships for the first time, King said.

Sarah DeWeese/Ivy Tech-Terre HauteChris Gresham, Ivy Tech-Terre Haute criminal justice instructor, teaches Introduction to Criminology in a Learn Anywhere class.

Ivy Tech Community College Terre Haute

Imagine a college class where you attend in person if you are able.

But if child care or work issues or even COVID-19 quarantine prevents you from going to class, you can attend online, real-time or watch a video of the class when you are able.

Ivy Tech is piloting some classes using this format, which is called Learn Anywhere.

The initiative grew out of a grant our Indianapolis campus and Muncie campus had on addressing challenges that single-mother students encounter, said Lea Anne Crooks, chancellor at Ivy Tech-Terre Haute.

With Learn Anywhere, instructors deliver class face-to-face with any student who can get there, but for those who cant attend in person, students can participate real time through Zoom. Also, the class is taped so a student who couldnt do either that day can watch it when they do have time.

We are being as flexible as we can for students, Crooks said. One week, a student may attend in person, another week, they may attend online. It also helps those students who may have to quarantine or isolate because of COVID-19.

The program is being piloted statewide, with four classes [six sections] being offered as Learn Anytime at Ivy Tech-Terre Haute. They are: intro to criminology; informatics fundamentals; fundamentals of public speaking and introduction to interpersonal communication.

We think this is something that will continue to grow and be really a great option for students in the future, Crooks said.

Teaching in the various Learn Anywhere formats has its challenges, so I really applaud our faculty who have stepped up and are looking at this as a way to assist our students, she said.

In another change this fall, courses that require hands-on learning are taking place face-to-face and on campus, including programs in health sciences, nursing, information technology, advanced manufacturing and engineering/applied science.

Most general education, business and liberal arts courses are offered virtually or online only; virtual courses are live, via Zoom, allowing for interaction. Online classes are not real-time and can be done as the students schedule allows.

Online courses allow students more flexibility and allow them to complete their coursework at days/times that are convenient for them. They still must complete assignments by their deadlines, but they do not have to attend class at a specific time. Instructors require participation through discussion boards and not live video.

The number of students on campus is about half of what it would be in a normal year, Crooks said. I wish we had the energy of what the campus normally feels like, but its where it should be because of the pandemic.

These are challenging times for our instructors, she said. But faculty and staff have stepped up to meet students needs and faculty are going the extra mile.

Students are still able to enroll for 8-week classes that begin in October. With the uncertainties of COVID, many have delayed enrolling, including parents who may not have known childrens school schedules, or high school graduates thinking theyll wait a year to start college.

Its not the time to take a break, Crooks said.

If students are choosing a gap year because they intend to go to a four-year university next year, We encourage them to consider staying in the academic mode and taking courses this year from Ivy Tech, which they will be able to transfer, she said.

Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

At Rose-Hulman, a team of faculty have been gathering from colleagues ways theyve used online technology or other creative means to share concepts with students, when in-person classes were not possible, said college president Rob Coons.

The goal is to determine whether some of those tools or course delivery strategies can be used to improve classroom instruction overall and make it more efficient, potentially saving students money.

For example, for chemistry experiments and lab work in some of the other engineering disciplines, faculty assembled kits and mailed them home to students this past spring. Students did part of the experiments or labs while at home, and then demonstrated their lab results in a variety of different ways depending on the class.

For example, in some cases the professor had students demonstrate their work during a video call. In other cases, the professor would have the them submit laboratory reports.

It might seem more cumbersome, yet, Some of our faculty are still studying it, but they feel some of that learning that occurred because students had to make that adaptation was really positive, Coons said.

As a result, the college is starting to look for ways we can incorporate the good things we learned as part of the pandemic back into the classroom, so that ultimately, regardless of method of delivery, it is an outstanding educational experience, Coons said.

There are elements of the education experience best presented in person and there are also many that can be presented just as well online, he said. We are learning from that process and trying to take the best of those things moving forward.

A number of courses this fall are blended, with part of the course online and part in person, he said. Originally, it was being done to reduce the amount of risk and exposure of employees and students to the COVID virus.

The college is still gathering data, but, We think there are ways to improve the efficiency of the class and begin to look at ways in which we could either perhaps, shorten the schedule or adjust the schedule in some way which in turn can convert to actual savings for the student. I think there is some opportunity there, Coons said.

Sue Loughlin can be reached at 812-231-4235 or at sue.loughlin@tribstar.com Follow Sue on Twitter @TribStarSue.

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Schools rise to face crisis, changing the face of education - Terre Haute Tribune Star