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MIT moves all classes online for the rest of the semester

web.mit.edu

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Re: MIT moves all classes online for the rest of the semester

#91

Post by rurp »

tekacs wrote: post #68
aquova wrote: post #22

I can see why the university is taking the actions that it is doing, but on the other hand, if I were still and undergrad, and suddenly told that I had to pack up all my stuff and move within the next 3 days, I can only imagine the chaos that entails. Every student on campus now has to suddenly not only find a place to stay, but also a way to move everything on short notice.

They’re providing packing materials and helping with the move. Financially, they say: > We understand that being asked to leave campus may pose a serious financial hardship for certain individuals. Students will receive a follow up communication on this matter. It’s unclear what their solution is, but they seem to have thought about it...

It would be nice if they had thought about it enough to offer some sort of concrete solution. I can only imagine how stressful and infuriating the situation MIT is imposing on its students must be for many of them.

Re: MIT moves all classes online for the rest of the semester

#92

Post by the-dude »

Ericson2314 wrote: post #57
mumblemumble wrote: post #51

The "empty out campus" bit seems a bit overmuch to me. What's the epidemiologists' take on something like this? I can see asking students who left for spring break not to come back. But asking students currently on campus to leave, and even demanding that they travel internationally, seems like it might just increase everyone's risk of exposure, and spread it around. Especially considering that, at least according to…

There is an exception for some international students as stated elsewhere in the thread, but yes I still agree. Even the domestic churn of thousands of schools from various schools going home is no good. Massachusetts surely has one of the highest hospital densities in the country, too. I would cancel classes, but allow everyone that wants to to stay put.

You want to know what is going to happen? They will party all night long.

Re: MIT moves all classes online for the rest of the semester

#93

Post by thulecitizen »

This kicking students out of dorms by MIT is insane! They are a being a terrible landlord. How is having thousands of students packing up their stuff better than them just staying put? Won't this make passing on the virus easier?

Those dorms are going to be sitting empty after the students move out. Seriously, what is the logic behind this mess?

Re: MIT moves all classes online for the rest of the semester

#94

Post by smallgovt »

PureParadigm wrote: post #50

I think large decisive moves like this may seem to some to be an overreaction, but it will prove to be the correct decision in hindsight (like the early travel bans). Exponential growth is real, and anything we can do to slow the rate of infection will save lives. As a current undergrad at UC Berkeley, they've moved all classes here online [1], and exams are either being postponed or converted to take-home assignment…

Actually, I think it's likely going to be seen as an overreaction in hindsight by the general public (even though it may not be).

If these actions are successful in curbing the virus' spread, most people won't appreciate how bad things could have really gotten.

Re: MIT moves all classes online for the rest of the semester

#95

Post by nostrademons »

JPKab wrote: post #2

One of my coworkers daughters is affected by this. The big question this begs: If there is no refund being offered for the content shifting online from in-person, why have in-person at all? Is room and board going to be refunded? If courses being taught online is an acceptable substitute, why have caps on admission at all? Edit: Understood that infinite sized classes aren't workable for human intensive grading, inter…

> If there is no refund being offered for the content shifting online from in-person, why have in-person at all?

There isn't really a good reason other than some people being more disciplined when there's a human instructor that they see face to face every couple days. Plenty of people self-teach from MOOCs, MIT OCW, or just buying the textbooks and working through the exercises and get just as good an education.

When you go to an elite college, you're really paying for the degree. This is also why there are caps on admission: it creates scarcity value for graduates from that university. When there are fewer graduates with a credential, companies that want to employ them have to compete for a limited number of human resources, which drives up wages. Additionally, the university can impose selection bias on matriculating freshmen who will eventually receive the credential, which helps maintain the reputation of the university's graduates.

If you don't maintain the selectivity of the institution, you end up with what's happening in the mid-tier for-profit colleges, where students take out massive loans for a degree but then it doesn't really improve their employment prospects much. If everybody has a college degree, its financial value is basically 0.

Re: MIT moves all classes online for the rest of the semester

#96

Post by enitihas »

petschge wrote: post #78
enitihas wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why should there be extra effort for online classes? My university had a course where an external professor would deliver a mixed online/offline course. Videos were available on institute website. Professor would hold a class every week to go through that week's contents and clarify student doubts. This saved a ton of effort on the professor's part.

Because nothing is set up for it yet. There is a reserved scheduled class room for the class, but there is no organized zoom meeting yet (or maybe not use zoom after all?). There is a mail box to drop of home work assignments, but nobody has figured out where students should email things for grading (the prof, the TA or a function account?). The prof has a set of notes that (s)he writes onto the white board, but not…

Thanks for your detailed reply. This really puts things into perspective.

Re: MIT moves all classes online for the rest of the semester

#97

Post by londons_explore »

neltnerb wrote: post #41
aquova wrote: post #22

I can see why the university is taking the actions that it is doing, but on the other hand, if I were still and undergrad, and suddenly told that I had to pack up all my stuff and move within the next 3 days, I can only imagine the chaos that entails. Every student on campus now has to suddenly not only find a place to stay, but also a way to move everything on short notice.

during midterms. with the expectation that either they or parents are rich enough to afford flights somewhere else on three day notice.

I'll be booking a greyhound bus to a far off place with cheap rent and good WiFi...

Re: MIT moves all classes online for the rest of the semester

#98

Post by better_names »

> to slow a spreading virus like COVID-19

The naming of this thing is such a disaster, even MIT can't get it right.

- the virus is called SARS-CoV-2 (like HIV)

- the disease it causes is named COVID-19 (like AIDS)

- pretty much everyone calls both the virus and the disease coronavirus

Re: MIT moves all classes online for the rest of the semester

#99

Post by atomicUpdate »

jacquesm wrote: post #45
aquova wrote: post #22

I can see why the university is taking the actions that it is doing, but on the other hand, if I were still and undergrad, and suddenly told that I had to pack up all my stuff and move within the next 3 days, I can only imagine the chaos that entails. Every student on campus now has to suddenly not only find a place to stay, but also a way to move everything on short notice.

It's a very smart decision. You have to imagine the chaos that entails vs the chaos that could entail if they didn't. Err on the side of caution with this stuff.

> vs the chaos that could entail if they didn't

A campus full of runny noses for a couple weeks? These are overwhelmingly young people of which the vast majority would be perfectly fine.

Re: MIT moves all classes online for the rest of the semester

#100

Post by HarryHirsch »

narrator wrote: post #69

Speaking of the underprivileged kids. Here in S.F where we have some really high rents, I heard a story from a friend that there was a student who was living in a van and spent most of his time in the lobby of the student center. I wonder if the MIT gang will start living in their cars. This could be the beginning of a new hyper mobile tech road warrior culture... Like all the MIT kids will meet up in random spots ar…

/notfunny. Student homelessness is real, as is student food insecurity.
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