Students continue to mostly “tolerate” online classes

While dissatisfied rumbling has continued online from Massey students about the state of schooling, many others seem to have begrudgingly accepted their online classes. A recent Stuff article interviewed Massey students, many of whom talked about a possible fees rebate or a return to in-person labs and workshops. Some thought that online classes were damaging the quality of education that students were receiving, and that a blanket approach to online learning was “difficult”.  

MAWSA Academic Officer Phoebe Bertelsen said MAWSA had not received much feedback about online classes despite those vocal online and in the media, although the feedback they had received was mostly negative. 

“From peers and the students who have spoken at our various feedback sessions we've found that although most Massey students feel negatively towards most classes staying online, they are understanding of the situation we are in and the decisions made around the current alert levels,” she said. 

She said the situation was outside of anybody’s control, and there was still campus access available to everyone it was essential for. 

“I definitely think that more classes in person would be beneficial for students' motivation but found that when I came into class, due to social distancing rules, it was easier and more efficient to do the class online.” 

She was unsure however of which courses outside of CoCA were operating with a blended learning approach. 

A student who wished to remain anonymous said they had felt negatively about the change but hadn’t spoken out about it anywhere. 

“I mean, the university seems pretty set in their decision anyway, don’t they? So, I don’t really see the point of complaining to the student associations, although that could be because I am lazy too,” they said. 

New Zealand Union of Students’ Associations National President Andrew Lessells told Stuff, “Students didn’t pay to have their papers taught entirely by distance. If they signed up as internal students, they signed up so they could be on a campus and learning on a campus.”