Amid pandemic, Maine College finds record enrollment from diverse learning options
Summary
Across the country, more than 60 colleges have closed or merged since 2016. The COVID-19 pandemic put further financial pressure on colleges and students alike. But one college in Unity, Maine is seeing record enrollment by offering students various learning options. New forms of alternative learning are just one of many outcomes from the COVID-19 pandemic. Jeffrey Brown looks at what they could mean for the future of colleges. It's part of our ongoing series, "Rethinking College."
Five Facts
What
is Unity College and
where
is it located?
Why
is student Delana Kirwan upset?
Who
is affected by Unity’s recent change?
When
did Unity College start to prepare materials for remote learning?
How
has the transition to online learning benefitted student Joshua Tait and professor Katera Moore?
Focus Questions
As students in the pandemic, reflect on your own learning experiences. What has been beneficial about remote learning, what has been hard about it? Do you imagine similar challenges and benefits for a college?
Discuss with one or more classmates: do you think there is an argument to keep some degree of remote learning? How might this be possible for grade school students?
Media literacy:
This piece is primarily conducted via interview, but some are in person and some are over zoom. Compare and contrast the advantages to each of them, did you think one was more effective than the other?
For More
For a timeline of the history of online education, check out
this website
.
For more on the effects of distance learning, check out these PBS NewsHour pieces:
