{"id":133256,"date":"2021-11-23T16:57:30","date_gmt":"2021-11-23T15:57:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=133256"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:26:00","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:26:00","slug":"students-want-to-attend-seminars-and-sit-exams-on-campus-but-would-rather-watch-lectures-online","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2021\/11\/23\/students-want-to-attend-seminars-and-sit-exams-on-campus-but-would-rather-watch-lectures-online\/","title":{"rendered":"Students want to attend seminars and sit exams on campus but would rather watch lectures online"},"content":{"rendered":"

Students are not dying to return to the type of teaching they received before the pandemic. Now that they have been forced to undergo online and hybrid teaching for over a year and a half, they are willing to acknowledge that there are certain advantages to these methods, as EM <\/em>found after polling almost three hundred students.<\/p>\n

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The ability to watch a lecture at a time of your own choosing. If there is one aspect of pandemic-time teaching that students wish to retain, it is this. Two-thirds of respondents said they would like to receive a hybrid type of teaching allowing them to watch lectures at a time of their own choosing.<\/p>\n\t

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Offline, online or hybrid? The future of education is very uncertain due to the corona crisis. Will everything change, or will everything return to normal? In this theme week, EM looks from all sides at what corona education has meant for students and teachers, how it can be improved and what we need to get rid of as soon as possible.<\/p>\n\n\t<\/div>\n

Studying made easier<\/h2>
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\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tEsther Dijkstra<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>

Some students like to view lectures online for practical reasons. \u201cIt saves me a time-consuming commute. This is time I really need for other things, being a part-time student with a job and a family,\u201d said an ESL student who would like to come to the campus more often but doesn\u2019t really have the time.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have my own company, which sometimes requires me to work at unconventional hours,\u201d wrote a 24-year-old ESE student. \u201cAs a result, in-person classes don\u2019t always fit into my schedule.\u201d<\/p>\n

A mother who is doing a degree said that being able to watch lectures after the fact, at a more convenient time, makes studying easier for her. \u201cIt allows me, a mother who is juggling a degree programme and kids, to join in and not miss a thing. If it weren\u2019t for this, I wouldn\u2019t be able to do so. So that\u2019s definitely a plus, as far as I\u2019m concerned.\u201d Some of her lectures are taught on a day of the week on which no one can look after her youngest son.<\/p>\n

Pausing complicated moments<\/h2>

Some students prefer online teaching due to the risk of infection inherent in attending classes in person. \u201cIn times such as this, when the healthcare system is coming under a lot of pressure, it sometimes feels unsafe [to go to campus],\u201d said a third-year philosophy student.<\/p>\n

Many students said that being able to watch lectures after the fact helps them get a better understanding of the subject matter. \u201cIt gives us freedom and allows us to view things at our own pace. For instance, we can pause the video when things get complicated,\u201d an ESSB student told us. \u201cIn addition, it\u2019s easier for me to focus on the lecture at home, rather than in a lecture room where I\u2019m surrounded by friends.\u201d<\/p>\n

Few on-campus seminars<\/h2>

Although many classes were able to be taught on campus without any restrictions earlier this academic year, we found that one in five students had not attended a single lecture or seminar in person since 1 September. Another 13 per cent indicated that they had attended in-person classes less than once per week. This was partly because many courses were still being taught online or in a hybrid manner. One-third of students said they were taking courses this term that were taught fully online.<\/p>\n

We found that hybrid classes have become very common. For instance, 85 per cent of respondents said they had taken courses this academic year in which they were able to watch video-recorded lectures at a time of their choosing.<\/p>\n

Livestreams not popular<\/h2>

Classes where some students attend a lecture or seminar in person while others watch it remotely have become quite common, as well. Eighty-two per cent of respondents indicated that they had taken courses this academic year in which this instructional format was used.<\/p>\n\n\t

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\n\t\t\u2018I find online lectures hard to follow. Attending a lecture in person provides me with more structure, routine and rhythm, and I feel like I learn more\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

This format proved to be a lot less popular. Only 10 per cent of students said it was their preferred method. \u201cThis format is very exhausting. Online lectures are better, but in-person classes are the best,\u201d said an EUC student who is not a fan of following in-person seminars remotely.<\/p>\n

Motivation<\/h2>
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\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tEsther Dijkstra<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>

There aren\u2019t many students who would prefer to have all their classes taught online \u2013 only 12 per cent of respondents. An even smaller percentage indicated a preference for in-person classes only (10 per cent). The latter students said that attending classes on campus helped them stay motivated.<\/p>\n

\u201cI find online lectures hard to follow. Attending a lecture in person provides me with more structure, routine and rhythm, and I feel like I learn more\u201d, an EUC student told us. \u201cIn-person classes are more motivating for me, and I get to talk to my fellow students.\u201d<\/p>\n

A bachelor student attending ESSB thinks he or she may even quit if the majority of his or her classes continue to be taught online: \u201cI really, genuinely fear that things will remain largely like this in future. It makes being a student a lot less fun. I feel like a working person who\u2019s getting a degree on the side rather than the other way around. If things stay this way, I don\u2019t think I\u2019ll get another degree after my Bachelor\u2019s, even though I was considering doing two Master\u2019s degrees before the pandemic.\u201d<\/p>\n\t

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About this survey<\/strong><\/p>\n

Between 4 and 15 November (i.e. just before their classes changed due to the current mild lockdown), 292 students completed a survey held by Erasmus Magazine<\/em>. They answered questions about what their courses are like this academic year, which aspects of lockdown-time teaching they do and don\u2019t miss, and which aspects of the online teaching they have received in the past year and a half they wish to keep. The survey was taken by students attending all EUR faculties, ranging from first-year students to PhD students. About a quarter of respondents are international students.<\/p>\n\n\t<\/div>\n

Social aspects<\/h2>

Many lecturers currently allow their students to decide for themselves whether to attend lectures in person or remotely (be it while the lecture is being presented or later, at a time of their own choosing). Twenty-four per cent of respondents said they won\u2019t go to campus if given the choice. However, quite a few students do want to go to campus: some 40 per cent of respondents said they often or always attend lectures in person, given the opportunity to do so.<\/p>\n

Students are not highly motivated to go to campus to attend lectures. When we asked them which types of classes they preferred to attend online, 60 per cent said lectures. However, students generally prefer to attend seminars and sit exams on campus.<\/p>\n

Many students indicated that the social aspects of student life matter to them. Meeting friends and fellow students in person is an activity that was mentioned by many. Well over two-thirds of respondents said this is important to them. \u201cI\u2019ve realised in the last year and a half how important it is to have your fellow students around you,\u201d a third-year RSM student told us.<\/p>\n\n\t

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