Remote Crisis

Remote students at Champlain College felt a more severe urge to withdraw from college than regular on-campus students during the fall 2020 semester because of COVID-19.

Students all over the country have dropped out of higher education at an increasingly alarming rate because of the pandemic which has placed college budgets in danger. A handful of remote students have made the decision to take a step back from college because of the stress of either attending clasess under strict pandemic guidelines or trying to learn through online formats.

Like students at other institutions, Champlainers have struggled with the choice of staying in school during a demanding period or seeking other options like a leave of absence or dropping out.

Christopher Morel Ortiz was a first-year student at Champlain who opted to learn online for the Fall semester. He has since withdrawn due to a number of specific factors some of which were directly connected to the pandemic and the challenges he faced.

Morel Ortiz noted that while there were many reasons for leaving school, two factors were most prominent. The first was that online studying felt disconnected to him and didn’t suit his way of learning. “Remote studying just didn’t stick in my mind,” Morel Ortiz said. “But that’s just me.”

But given the falling rates of enrollment around the country, it’s clear that it’s not just him. Many students claim that online school has not been a favorable medium for their learning. While some argue it has been advantageous and a more effective approach to studying, statistics showing a significant decrease in student enrollment around the country argue differently.

Morel Ortiz stated that if he had the opportunity to participate in some in-person classes, especially those where he needed to handle physical things like computer hardware for his tech classes, he would have felt more connected and integrated that hands-on process into the online experience.

The second reason he stated that impacted his decision the most was his mental health. Morel Ortiz explained a domino effect pattern. The first factor of not attending in-person classes led him to perform poorly, which then let him get down on himself and become depressed.

Given that depression has been confirmed as limiting cognitive functioning, his performance in school was affected even more. “When you’re depressed and struggling in school, that’s not a good mix” he affirmed.

Morel Ortiz perfectly understands the struggles he’s facing and instead of surrendering to them, he plans on doing what is best for him in the long term; re-enlisting to college and, if conditions allow for it, attending his classes in person. He hopes that next year things will be easier for him so that his gap semester does not become a gap year or lead to never returning to college at all.

By: Minerva Paulino

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