Students decry cumbersome online-offline class mix-match

Students walk on campus at Chungbuk National Universtiy in Cheongju, North Chungcheong, on March 2. [YONHAP]

Twenty-two-year-old Kim Su-min has a dilemma. For some of her college courses, she has to leave the room every time she wants to speak out.

Ironically, that’s the only way she can be heard.

Kim has a mixed timetable of in-person and online classes this semester, which means that on some days, she has both. On those days, Kim goes to her school, Kyung Hee University in Dongdaemun District, eastern Seoul, for in-person classes, and attends her virtual classes from the school library. With many other students in the library for the same reason, Kim says she has to move to a less crowded location every time she wants to unmute herself to speak, so as not to disrupt the other students studying online.

Despite the rapid spread of the Omicron variant, many universities have refused to again go fully virtual, like in the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, instead allowing professors to use their discretion in determining the format of their classes.

Some professors have chosen to stick to their traditional in-person formats while others have chosen to switch to online, leaving many students confused and irritated with the mix-match. Several college students interviewed by the JoongAng Ilbo on Tuesday said they sometimes have an online class right after a course held in person, meaning they have to rush to find a quiet location on campus.

Some schools have opened empty classrooms for students to use for online classes. Students without that option usually go to a nearby coffee shop or library. A student at Chung-Ang University in Dongjak District, southern Seoul, who wished to be identified only by his surname Moon, said he has even seen some students log in from a restroom.

“When school first started [in early March], there were no classrooms [exclusively open to students attending online classes], so there were some people attending classes from a hallway or restroom,” said Moon. “Some kids were like ‘Forget it’ and just randomly snuck into an empty room.”

Choi Eun-jeong, 23, who attends Kyung Hee University, vented frustration about the mix of class formats during an interview with the JoongAng Ilbo, saying she wished all her classes just chose the same one.

“Either face-to-face or non-face-to-face,” said Choi, “I just want one.”

On a separate note, some students who tested positive for the coronavirus said they were having trouble gaining access to class materials, saying some professors didn’t offer any if they missed class because they had the virus.

Yonsei University in Sinchon, western Seoul, requires all professors to hand out class materials in case any of their students come down with Covid-19, but Kim Mi-ji, 22, who attends the school, said she never received any materials for the weeks she was out with the virus.

A 24-year-old student at Seoul National University in Gwanak District, southern Seoul, who asked to be identified only by the surname Moon, also claimed professors don’t hand out materials for infected students.

“We don’t get our marks deducted for being absent because of the coronavirus, but that alone isn’t enough to make up for our learning loss,” said Moon.

BY JEONG JONG-HOON [lee.sungeun@joongang.co.kr]