By Sonal Tulsyani
Staff Writer
Some 67% of students The Equinox surveyed from July 1 to July 7 said that they would prefer to take their fall courses online for personal safety reasons.
The students replied to our Google Forms to indicate preferences for online or in-person classes this fall. In the survey period, 36 students from the FDU Metropolitan campus responded. The survey was voluntary and was promoted throughout The Equinox’s social media pages.
Out of the 36 survey participants: none were freshman, six were sophomores, 11 juniors, 17 seniors and two graduate students.
Some 46% of the survey participants answered that they think they are capable of learning all the skills they need online.
About 67% of biology majors, 100% of health science majors, 100% of clinical laboratory science majors, and 20% of psychology majors that participated in the survey showed concern about taking labs online.
Some 50% of forensic psychology majors from the poll answered that online classes make it difficult to learn to read body language. This is especially important because according to the American Psychological Association, one of the roles of a forensic psychologist is to perform a “psychological assessment of individuals who are involved, in one way or another, with the legal system,” which can only be done with proper training.
A full 100% of nursing majors from the poll answered that online classes make it difficult to learn crucial skills taught in clinical rotations. Clinical rotations teach nurses how to administer medication. This is imperative to saving lives, especially if a patient is suffering from an allergic reaction which can be fatal if it is not treated immediately.
Some 75% of communications majors responded that online classes impair the students’ ability to fine-tune essential skills for their field such as speech, broadcasting, video editing, Adobe (for free), and even working sound boards.
The majors represented by this participant poll were:
- nine biology majors
- one computer art and design major
- one civil engineering major
- one clinical laboratory science major
- four communication majors
- one criminal justice major
- one education major
- one electrical engineering major
- two English majors
- four forensic psychology majors
- one health science major
- one hospitality and tourism major
- two humanities/QUEST majors
- one math/QUEST major
- one nursing major
- one political science major
- five psychology majors
100% of electrical engineering majors from the poll answered that specific technology used for hands-on practice is expensive, but necessary in their studies.
Other students who voiced concern said that they are less motivated online.
The Equinox plans to continue this polling series as more information becomes available for the fall semester. Stay tuned for our next poll regarding dining.
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Art by Amaya Morales.
The Equinox reviews polling data.
