2008 Woodie Awards
Tuesday classes left in the cold
Natalie Niemeyer
Issue date: 2/28/08 Section: News
With Tuesday night courses that have already missed 12 hours of class time and more inclement weather on the way, Kirkwood Community College instructors and students are left wondering, what now?
"I don't know what we're going to do about [missing so much class time]. We were supposed to start our final project that second week. I just hope it doesn't hurt us," Aaron Weatherall, network administration major, said.
Students aren't the only ones wondering how they are going to make up for lost time.
"There's just no way to make up what we've missed," Brenda Hampton, comp II technical writing instructor said. "We will cover the most important things. I think a lot of the hardship is going to fall on the students."
Not all students are seeing the negative aspects of the situation.
"[Having class cancelled is] kind of nice, but at the same time you know it's going to suck at the end. I'd just prefer to take it online at this point," Devin Wever, Liberal Arts major, said.
Other students are expressing desire to either drop classes or receive money back for the time missed.
"I think [Kirkwood] should give some money back because we've missed a month of class. We can't cover everything," Jason Gabin, web design major, said.
"We're really not encouraging students to [drop classes]. To me, that's not a good option," Vice President of Instruction Bill Lamb said. He noted that students may have problems earning a degree on time and keeping financial aid if they take such drastic steps.
According to Lamb, there are ways that instructors can make up for lost time.
"Some courses, depending on the discipline, can schedule tests in the testing center, that way they wouldn't be using [class time] to give the students tests," Lamb said.
"Many faculty members have already been proactive in terms of working with students in their night classes. If we added about 20 minutes onto all class periods, which would help make up the time. But my main concern is really not the time as much as covering the material," Lamb said.
"I don't know what we're going to do about [missing so much class time]. We were supposed to start our final project that second week. I just hope it doesn't hurt us," Aaron Weatherall, network administration major, said.
Students aren't the only ones wondering how they are going to make up for lost time.
"There's just no way to make up what we've missed," Brenda Hampton, comp II technical writing instructor said. "We will cover the most important things. I think a lot of the hardship is going to fall on the students."
Not all students are seeing the negative aspects of the situation.
"[Having class cancelled is] kind of nice, but at the same time you know it's going to suck at the end. I'd just prefer to take it online at this point," Devin Wever, Liberal Arts major, said.
Other students are expressing desire to either drop classes or receive money back for the time missed.
"I think [Kirkwood] should give some money back because we've missed a month of class. We can't cover everything," Jason Gabin, web design major, said.
"We're really not encouraging students to [drop classes]. To me, that's not a good option," Vice President of Instruction Bill Lamb said. He noted that students may have problems earning a degree on time and keeping financial aid if they take such drastic steps.
According to Lamb, there are ways that instructors can make up for lost time.
"Some courses, depending on the discipline, can schedule tests in the testing center, that way they wouldn't be using [class time] to give the students tests," Lamb said.
"Many faculty members have already been proactive in terms of working with students in their night classes. If we added about 20 minutes onto all class periods, which would help make up the time. But my main concern is really not the time as much as covering the material," Lamb said.
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