Portland State Magazine Fall 2021

6 // PORTLAND STATE MAGAZINE HOW COVID-19 CHANGED CAMPUS AT FIRST, it seemed the COVID-19 pan- demic would disrupt life as we knew it for a few weeks, tops. In fact, 556 days—more than a year and a half—passed between Portland State University going remote and the return of in-person classes on Sept. 27. During that time, students, instructors and staff alike had to reimagine the university experience, mastering digital tools and virtual ways of interacting. Such an unprecedented experiment couldn’t help but change the way we work and learn. Beyond temporary precautions, here are a few changes we think just might stick: → New ways to take classes : Though many students longed for a return to in-person classes, some discovered reduced commute times made it easier for them to balance school with other obligations. A pilot pro- gram offers a new choice: “Attend Anywhere” courses that meet in person, but also offer a remote option for every class. Using 133 new campus “Zoom rooms” with touchscreen controls and podium computers that include integrated webcams, participating faculty broadcast in-person lectures via video conferencing, allowing flexibility for students whose work or family commitments sometimes make it difficult to get to campus. The School of Business has led the way. Before the pandemic began, it had converted about a third of the rooms in the Karl Miller Center into “global classrooms,” equipped with ceiling microphones and high- definition cameras that zoom in and out as the instructor steps on floor pads in the front of the room.This fall, 20% of School of Business courses will be offered in the “Attend Anywhere” format. → Virtual supports: During remote oper- ations, some student activities and services saw attendance as much as double, in part because using video conferencing made par- ticipation easier for students with long com- mutes, family obligations or social anxiety. As a result, resources including counseling, health services and the Veterans Resource Center are continuing to let students opt for telehealth or Zoom-based appointments. park blocks SAFETY FIRST Portland State University is one of 1,060 colleges and universities nationwide requiring their communities to be vaccinated against COVID-19 this fall. All Oregon public universities require the vaccine for students, faculty and staff. SERVICE STAR U.S. News & World Report ranked Portland State No. 5 in the nation— tied with Stanford University—for service learning. PSU has the nation’s largest Senior Capstone program, which requires seniors to complete community service projects. OPEN BOOK Materials from the library’s award-winning, open-source text- book initiative, PDXOpen, have been downloaded more than 400,000 times since 2019, saving students more than $1 million in textbook costs. No. 5 $1M 1,060 NEWS BY THE NUMBERS 6 // PORTLAND STATE MAGAZINE ZACH PUTNAM