Yes, that's the type of comparison you have to do. I work for a community college that feeds into two well-thought-of four year colleges with large computer science programs. Both are IEEE accredited and more. IEEE isn't everything, but it's a good sign. Being a community college, the build-up is a little different, but they get into Java early on. We have Guaranteed Transfer Agreements where the first two years are counted completely done if they get an associate's with the right classes and GPA, so we have to be very careful. I teach web development which can go into a transfer information technology degree, and we just revamped several of those classes in order to better match the four years. It's an ongoing process.

I took an online college-level Shakepeare class in the spring, and we read a good summary first. Then we watched a movie with the subtitles on and then read the play from the Oxford edition (good annotations). I found that to be very effective for me. The final paper was to pick a play and watch several different versions and write a paper.

That's tough. Sounds like a school with broader opportunities is in order. A million years ago, I actually left Baylor myself because of a poor computer science program back then. They were still using cards and didn't have what was then an ACM-accredited program (now it's IEEE accreditation). Apparently they haven't fixed that situation, but I understand that it takes time and money. Summer before last I interviewed with a university that was looking for an undergraduate computer science advisor who would manage their IEEE accreditation. You have to have professors with the right background and every course has to be deeply analyzed and reported on. I didn't get the job, but it was interesting to hear what was involved. Anyway, way back then I ended up at a state school with the ACM accreditation that was in the top ten nationally and never looked back. They had multiple mainframe computers with large computer labs with terminals (no PC's and limited networking then). I was very well prepared for graduate school and a research career.

We rent, and I'm pretty sure that the dishwasher is at least 20 years old. Still going strong!

My community college is doing all online other than select lab and clinical classes. They are putting out a massive paid training program to train all the faculty in online education. Do it now, and you get paid. It is mandatory, and you won't get paid if you do it in the fall (LOL). I've always taught online for that school and have state certification to teach online at the community college level, but it's easy money for me, so I start the program Friday. Then I was in line at the grocery store, and the lady in front was talking to the check-out guy about her daughter whose college (TENS of thousands in tuition she said loudly) just announced that they are doing all online. She had her daughter apply and register for classes at my community college because there are transfer agreements and said Mom is going to save money for the daughter's tuition later on rather than paying that much for general degree requirements. Her daughter (a freshman) took a deferral from the original college, which may or may not be OK. Some colleges don't like that. Anyway, not my business.

The college where I teach is currently online, hybrid (only one class session a week), and labs/clinicals in person for the fall. They put out a long email yesterday to all faculty that they area strongly considering going 100% online and are paying for folks to go through training NOW that covers what good online courses are and the technical best practices. They are paying about $20/hour for attending training. By doing it now, we get paid for it. If they go 100% online in the fall, it will be mandatory in many cases, and you won't get paid for it (LOL). They are also saying that if they go 100% online there will be more spot checks and ongoing review than before unless the course was already online and standardized with an approved online professor. They have sessions every day from now until mid-August, so I got myself registered. They said even approved online professors could do this. My summer sections end next week, and I can fit it in just fine because we're not going anywhere this summer. I've been teaching online for over a decade and have the state certification to do that at the community college level, but I figure that I might get some tips and get paid for it. My kids are at another school, and they got an email that schedules will be final by the end of the month. They're figuring online because that's what most of the sections are even now. My younger one started watching more because she was waitlisted for several she really wanted, and she now has everything she wants and then two "safety" classes. They also moved her on-campus job online which she did online from March on. My older one also has some "safety" classes. I'm not complaining, believe me. My kids are both commuter students, and we did great all being home from March on. It's less expensive for them because they pay their own commuting costs. There will be more food to buy because they both had an on-campus, flexible meal plan that they paid for themselves, but they'll be able to cover more of their own tuition and such. The college rolled over unused meal plan dollars to their accounts.

Yes, the school I work for has a SACS-approved online program. It's far more strict and detailed than what a regular professor would provide. They standardize all online course shells and have all kinds of procedures and practices that classroom professors don't have to follow. As an example, if I find an error in an assignment or exam, there is a procedure for how I report that and how the shell is changed. In the classroom, the professor would of course handle that themselves.

Yes, everything is somewhat in flux, but I'm hearing what local universities are doing. Thankfully we have excellent internet, and I paid to have our computers upgraded two summers ago. But if we are all online in class at once -- I'm not sure how that is going to go. We shall see. The community college I work for is going largely online. There is already a large online program with asynchronous classes. Many classroom classes are moving online with live Zoom class sessions. Some classroom classes are going to hybrid online format with only one class session a week on campus and the rest online. And the labs, studio time, etc. are going on as always on campus. We'll see what enrollment looks like, but there is some expectation that some student won't come back or won't enroll because of the choices made. My kids' college is doing something very similar and just announced that Friday. One kid's classes are currently all online, and the other doesn't want to look yet (LOL). Thankfully both are seniors with one graduating and one taking a little longer. Both did online classes in high school and some online classes in college even prior to COVID. But quality of their online classes has been so mixed. It really is sad. My oldest did his capstone courses, and one of them was really substandard. It was like the professor just gave up. I'd have mixed feelings if I had a freshman. I might reduce their credits or defer if I could find something meaningful for them. This really isn't a good way to go to college, but it's what we have.

It's hard. I'm finding that everything is upended. I agree with not wanting anything else online. One of my local groups is restarting in July with masks and meeting outside, so I'm happy about that. A group I volunteer with is doing an outdoor luncheon for women who go to our ministry center for clothes and food. My church completely shut down during the lock-down and is trying to start up again, but people aren't coming out like they once did. The vibe is different. I'm not sure what is up there. So there are things happening, but you have to look for them.

I know that mine talk to me far more than some of their friends talk to their parents, so I take that as a complement. Sometimes they tell me about their friends' poor choices which may be a test for me, but is OK. They usually say, "But I would never do that." So I know who had a wild, promiscuous roommate in college and never told their parents, and the one who got drunk on their 21st and passed out on their bedroom floor at home without their parents knowing. Thankfully those kids also worked it through and are on the right path now. They talk about their mistakes with each other and know better how to handle themselves. And yes, I have my friends including some that I hear from all the time. Before the virus, I had all kinds of social and volunteer work going on, but of course had to modify that. I have work and friends through work too. It's a different phase of parenting, for sure.

Yes, we had our issues a few years back, but thankfully it was something they admitted and were willing to work through. They are both still in college and live with me, so they drive places I don't know about and make their own associations. Their grades are excellent, and their friends are solid citizen types. It's good now. I understand the nail-biting stress though.

Yes, my youngest college student has talked to me about just stopping attending church for a time because there's no church that is truly safe for me. I'm safer in a doctor's office which requires masks or a grocery store where 98% of the people are complying. That's what she was arguing. I'm an older single parent, so I'm all they have. Made me think.

There you go. I hadn't thought of it that way. I have asthma and am older, nearly in the range they talk about. I get allergy shots weekly, and my asthma/allergy doctor has said all along that my goal should be to do everything within my power to at least get it at late as possible because they are learning better ways of handling it all the time.

Exactly. There's a certain mindset that only they are right that I've found troubling at times. I've actually stopped following some of them on Facebook because it just wasn't my thing. One of the elders also made a comment this morning about how this period may be "the beginning of the end of our country." Oh, how positive and uplifting for us when we are there to worship and learn. There were only about 20 in attendance, so I don't think their future is going to be a positive one.

One of mine took 15 the first semester, and the other 12. My one who took less battles chronic fatigue, and she has stayed around 12-14 per semester for that reason, especially because she now commutes and is working longer hours.

Yes, it's a huge problem. A friend of mine said they closed the lunchroom/break room at his work because they didn't want the liability of people gathering there. The furniture was all moved out.

In my area, the vast majority of rentals require good credit history and good income. I found when trying to rent myself that they were very picky on those fronts, indeed. Like a dozen applicants for every somewhat decent house.

Yes, that's where I am. There were side issues before, and then they outright shut down during the lock down and said "call if you need us." Well, IMHO this was even more of an opportunity to care for each other, and it didn't happen. I tried to reach out, but everyone basically went their own ways. So in some ways, this is showing me a side of the church that I don't like. It's painful.

Yes, I have this issue with my church. Masking in closed, public places is mandatory in my area. Multiple people preach there, and last Sunday the one who preached outright took off his mask because he wanted to. The elders had said that all masks had to remain on the entire time as ordered. It is a very small building with poor circulation. We always sit at the back, but I left right afterwards because of that. So this morning I left before the the preaching service. During the service before, everyone was facing forward and generally remained masked. I don't have younger kids, but I agree that it's a poor example if it's required. It's also tough for people like me who are at risk to sit there with people who don't respect the reasons for masks in a small closed space. My guess is that I'm going to have to keep leaving like I did this morning in order to have the peace of mind I need. In contrast, there's a local church that has a large sanctuary with good air circulation. The pastor doesn't mask when he's speaking, but they block off the first four rows. When he's done speaking, he puts on his mask. They have a large enough building that they spread people significantly apart, but they don't require masks either. They have people leave by row, only a few people at a time from the back and ask that people congregate outside. The lobby is largely blocked off. I really don't know where the line is. This is hard.

So many insightful things here. I actually saved what I pasted above to share with my college kids. Thank you. You are right that ugly has to come from somewhere. It's just shocking to me at times. I admit that I've been brutal on Facebook about unfollowing people though, and that helps. I also think that some of the issue Boomers have is that the world has indeed changed so very much, and there's some rigidity of belief that it has to be the way it was for them to be good. Well, it's just not going to work like that. Society was already rapidly changing, and then the virus and the protests are rocking our beliefs and politics in ways not dissimilar to the 1960's. Unless you have a fundamental belief that things will generally work out and there are good people everywhere, it's upsetting.

Yes, I guess more than anything, Facebook has become an interesting social experiment. I tend to be a puppies-and-babies type. I want to see them, and I want to post positive, cheerful things. There has been a lot of horrible stuff in my life over the last five years, and it doesn't go there. Period. But I'm seeing sides of people that I find troubling. I guess that the filters are down and the assumption is that everyone agrees with them. Being isolated isn't good for some people, IMHO, because they believe too much of their own rhetroic and feel that venting on Facebook restores some of the power they feel they have lost. I admit that there things I've seen on Facebook that gave me pause about certain people. I'm not sure how I feel about them now, but maybe they're just not in a good place right now. What a mess!

Yes, it's all a mess. I live in a state where masks are required for any indoor gathering of 10 or more and anything requiring close contact like hair appointments, etc. But my church is no longer enforcing that, and more and more people aren't wearing masks. It's a tiny building with poor air circulation, so we may be going elsewhere to a church that at least has good air circulation and separation between those on the stage and the congregation. But the specialist I see has you wait in your car, then they call. So does the vet and the hair dresser. I went to a large grocery store yesterday and saw only one couple without masks.

My college announces what they're going to do today. Given that it is a non-residential community college, I'm expecting that they'll open. But who knows. My oldest will probably be all online. I think I said in a previous thread that he registered for more than he needs to graduate because very few professors were listed. He currently has three online and two face-to-face, but only needs three. My younger one has no online right now. She's always taken the bus, but we may get her a parking pass because of the concerns. What a mess!

I hear you. I do it weekly for my allergy shot. I actually restrict water just before so there isn't an issue. I think that's going to be the norm though. Just how it is.

You guys did great! Not buzzed, but I cut DD's. Then I cut mine. Then I cut DD's again. DS buzzes his own. Thankfully the beagle doesn't need much grooming. 😍