4 The RAPS Sheet April 2020 ‘Remote instruction’ central to PSU pandemic plans PORTLAND STATE WILL LOOK much different spring term as the coronavirus pandemic rages. RAPS members will forego general meetings, hikes, book club meetings, and bridge (see story on page 1). Students and faculty will be engaged in “remote instruction”—just as universities throughout the country will as the pandemic bears down. And most campus and student support offices are going to “remote delivery.” Stephen Percy, Portland State’s interim president, has sent nearly 20 online messages and videos related to the pandemic—and PSU’s response—to faculty and students since January 29. At press time, the most recent was dated March 20 (read it here: https://www.pdx.edu/coronavirus-response). While acknowledging that “things will not be perfect in the spring term,” Percy wrote that deans, department chairs, and faculty were working to smooth out the shift to remote THE CORONAVIRUS pandemic has thrown the lives— academic and personal—of 21,000 Portland State students into disarray. Suddenly, spring courses will be taught remotely. Some of the support offices that students depend on will move to “remote delivery.” And the campus itself, usually hectic, even frantic, will go quiet. Chalk it up to the costs of fighting a pandemic. One of those PSU students is Emily Caparelli, who manages the RAPS office in the Campus Public Safety building on SW Montgomery Street. “It is what it is,” says Emily. “I’m not too upset about it.” Still, there’s a certain unease. Emily is a senior, scheduled to graduate in June. She’s considering seeking a graduate degree in health sciences. “Online (courses) raise the question about whether they will be accepted by grad schools,” Emily explains. “A lot of grad schools don’t accept online courses—they have to be in-person science classes.” Then there’s everyday life—it’s changed. Emily walked learning, an effort that he described as “unprecedented, demanding, and just plain hard.” In a March 18 message (read it here: https://www.pdx.edu/news/psu-moves-spring-term-allremote-learning), Percy informed students of the move to remote learning for spring term, describing it as a “strategy of moving content designed for face-to-face teaching to digital format.” He said that no extra fees would be charged for remote courses, except for courses that were originally designed to be taught online. Percy also pointed out that Portland State has an Incident Management Team that is trained in planning and response to potential health or safety threats. The team “is leading our efforts to coordinate preparedness, response, communications, and contingencies” in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Emily Caparelli across campus a few days ago and, she says, “I saw about four people.” A Portland State ID is required to get into campus buildings, except for the library. And she’s staying at home a lot. She can work from home “pretty easily,” but she hasn’t been seeing many friends. “I’m being extra cautious,” she explains. Emily’s RAPS job is secure until the end of the academic year, but a second job, at OHSU, is temporarily on hold. “I’m going to wait and see,” she said, adding that her sister’s job at Portland State has been canceled. “A majority of people I know are concerned about the future,” Emily says. “My plan was to get a job after graduation, but with everything that’s going on, that’s up in the air. It’s scary—there are a lot of unanswered questions right now.” Emily’s taking 18 credits spring term, the most she’s ever taken. “Yes, I think I will graduate, and I think the online format will be OK. But I don’t know if it will be an in-person graduation.” According to the Portland State website, the 2020 commencement ceremonies are still on—at least for now. For RAPS manager, pandemic creates ‘unanswered questions’
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