When in doubt, Zoom out!
Like many others, I was eager to return to in-person classes following a largely-virtual year. I imagine many of my peers were dissatisfied with the pandemic’s pernicious effects, particularly with respect to interpersonal connections, networking opportunities, and the Faculty’s fabled caliber of education. While professors deserve credit for doing their very best to engage students, the virtual model did not lend itself to highly effective instruction (I personally found it to be slightly better than Linkedin Learning, but not quite as good as Coursera. I have not yet had the pleasure of using Udemy, but reviews are certainly appreciated). Whether the Zoom-of-T Law experience was worth over $33,000 in tuition fees is far beyond the scope of this piece.
I think it goes without saying that we were all very much looking forward to experiencing a school year with some semblance of “normality”.
I had my reservations regarding a potential fourth wave in the fall and, given the abrupt mid-semester changes that took place the previous year, made the decision to commute. This turned out to be a tremendously fortuitous call. A few days before the beginning of the semester, the Faculty notified me of a change in my schedule – one of my four courses would be offered entirely online. This small administrative change had tremendous personal repercussions, as I now only needed to be on campus two days a week. The commuter in me was ecstatic. The vulturine cynic in me found some bones to pick.
This announcement arrived in my inbox on Thursday, September 2, the day before the Labour Day long weekend. With classes set to begin immediately after the holiday, the Faculty effectively provided two business days’ worth of notice (some might argue that this is technically just one full business day, but I encourage generosity in interpretation). To my understanding, my course was not the sole casualty of last minute changes. What gives?
The rumours may tell you otherwise, but law students at U of T are indeed capable of compassion and understanding. The pandemic is ongoing, and no one can reasonably fault the Faculty for having to move a few of its offerings online. The vast majority of courses have continued to be delivered in-person as advertised. Although I have no problem with some courses being conducted through Zoom, the fundamental question remains: why were these format changes not communicated sooner?
Earlier communication of this information may have been significant in informing critical decisions. A schedule change that eliminates a day or two from a student’s in-person requirements could, for example, be the difference in a decision between commuting and renting. It could force students to revisit extracurricular commitments made earlier in the summer. Sudden adjustments may also exacerbate pre-existing feelings of uncertainty and anxiety. It’s entirely possible that a great deal rides on these small, seemingly insignificant changes.
So, why did the Faculty wait until the eleventh-hour? One can only speculate, and I surely did. I conjured up my own reasons 一 some certainly more nefarious than others.
That the Faculty refused to lower its tuition fees as it offered exclusively online courses was certainly a point of discussion last year. Perhaps the Faculty, cognizant of these existing tensions, sought to limit opportunities for complaint. Affected students would be upset with the changes, but what could they feasibly do about it so close to the beginning of the semester? Collective action and calls for reform go on the backburner once your professor assigns 100 pages of readings for the first week of school. Perhaps the Faculty didn’t pay close enough attention to logistics. Perhaps the Faculty overlooked the downstream impacts of its decisions, with little consideration paid to the realities of student life.
Of course, it is also entirely possible that I completely missed the mark. Maybe several professors experienced sudden changes in circumstance that week. It’s possible. Perhaps some instructors only realized the immense threat this pandemic posed to their health a few days prior to the beginning of the semester. You and I could probably sit and speculate for days.
I will add this. This may have been a non-issue if the Faculty had not spent the better part of recent months parroting its unrelenting stance on attendance requirements. The lack of transparency becomes especially egregious when contrasted with the Faculty’s adamant insistence that all students attend classes in-person. While I am grateful to have in-person classes, a luxury unavailable to many law students across Canada at this time, the Faculty has much room to improve its communication and attitude towards students.
