Grant Dillard
Staff Writer
Honors College faculty has worked closely with Honors students to ensure their degree programs are not negatively affected after COVID-19 has forced the University administration to cancel study abroad programs and move classes online.
Warren Edminster, executive director of the Honors College, said the coronavirus pandemic affected many Honors students who planned to study abroad, as all study abroad programs for the spring and summer semesters were canceled. Students were not able to go to China or Korea for their programs, and students studying in Europe had to return to the U.S.
Edminster said the students whose plans were interrupted will not necessarily have to change from an Honors Diploma to an Honors Focus, though it is still a possibility for those who will no longer be able to fulfill the requirements of an Honors Diploma.
“We have accepted the coursework of students graduating in May whose trips were canceled as meeting the study abroad requirement,” Edminster said. “Students graduating in December will be able to do an international project to meet that requirement if they so wish. Students graduating after December will be able to look at other study abroad options, including a one credit hour special course we will do in concert with the Spring 2021 Spring Break in London program.”
The Honors Focus is a less intensive Honors track that requires fewer Honors seminars and elective courses than the Honors Diploma. Students who cannot complete the Honors Diploma can switch to the Honors Focus instead of leaving the Honors College or staying extra semesters to meet the diploma requirements.
Carole Inman, student development counselor for the Honors College, said students appear to be handling the transition fairly well and she has been communicating with them daily.
Inman also said she doesn’t think study abroad being canceled will force any Honors students to switch from the Honors Diploma to the Honors Focus.
“The Honors College has had to waive the study abroad requirement for only one or two of the May graduates because the vast majority have already studied abroad,” Inman said. “I don’t see any of them moving to the Focus for this reason.”
Inman also said for those who will graduate next fall or spring, the Honors College will look at each student individually. She believes the Honors College will be able to make sure students will graduate with the Honors Diploma.
Inman spoke to an Honors student who was studying abroad in Spain this semester but had to return early because of the coronavirus outbreak. He lost all of his in-progress credits because the remaining work was too complicated to do online from across the ocean. Inman said his stay in Spain will meet the study abroad requirement because he was there for two months, but he ultimately ended up losing a semester of classes.
For Haley Penrod, sophomore from Morgantown, Kentucky, the news of the University going all-online made her wonder how she would be able to continue her internship and how her classes would be taught.
Penrod said she takes specific classes because she likes how her professors give lectures and she never intended to take them online.
“My biggest concern regarding the major changes involving moving classes online was how I was supposed to adjust to only online classes,” Penrod said. “I learn better in a classroom setting with structure. Without this structure, how am I supposed to carve out a time for each class and make sure I am still getting the quality education that I am paying for?”
Penrod has considered the newly implemented pass/fail option for classes that is being given to students, but prefers to wait closer to the deadline to make a final decision; also to see if all her classes qualify for the option.
“I am thankful that the University is giving students this option because we didn’t sign up for online class and [the pass/fail option] takes some of the pressure off.”
