can we have a thread w/ on-campus/in-person experiences?

[AEC]

DS is heading to campus on Aug 30.  He'll be in the dorms, for in-person classes, starting 9/1. Those who's DC area heading back - how was move in? Anyone started class yet? Any news on outbreaks or issues?

 

[almondbutterandjelly]

Dd starts on Aug. 19.  Move-in is staggered over 4 days, but dd lives at home so that does not affect her.  She registered for 5 face-to-face classes last spring and one lab.  So far, two have gone completely online, and three are Blended.  Lab is face-to-face.  She has heard from her Psychology teacher about the Blended class, and they are dividing them alphabetically.  M-Z last names will go in person on Monday, A-L on Wednesday, and everybody online on Friday.  Their alternate day looks to be a synchronous online class, so if dd is already on campus for a different class, she will have to stay on campus and do her online class from the library.  Not sure that's the school's intent.  Will be interesting to see how it all shakes out.

[whitestavern]

DS will be living on campus, move in date TBD, but sometime between 8/21-23 timeframe. He will drop off his belongings/set up his room on the 18th, which is also orientation day. They are staggering drop off days/times for any student within driving distance that is not from a high COVID area. 4 out of 5 of his classes are face to face; one is online. First two weeks all classes everyone is online as there is a mandatory quarantine for students from high COVID areas. Will report back in a couple of weeks. 

[gingersmom]

Nm 

Edited August 9, 2020 by gingersmom

[Lanny]

DD is FDOC today (10 August 2020) for her second-year at Carolina. She sent me a screenshot of her schedule, yesterday, because I asked her to let me know what it is, so I don't send her a message when she's in a class.   DD wasn't able to come home to Colombia, because our airports are closed to all flights, except for occasional Humanitarian flights and Jet Freighters. She  has been "SIP" at Carolina since the Covid-19 broke during their Spring Break in March and she has been living in her dorm since then, so I can't report a "move in" experience to you.  Her roommate, an International student, went home. I'm not sure if she will be studying online from her passport country this semester or not. Two of her other friends also went home.  

To get back on topic. From the screenshot DD sent to me yesterday, it looks like she has 2 in-person courses (one is an Honors course) and one Recitation and that the other courses are Online.

If she comments about anything regarding Covid-19 I will try to remember to revisit this thread.

[fourisenough]

DD is scheduled to move in on 8/30 for a class start date of 9/1; however just yesterday, her college announced major changes to their return to campus plan. The plan had been to welcome everyone back to campus, but because they are in a state and county that is a major hot-spot, they have reduced capacity on campus to about 50% with all single rooms. Certain groups are allowed on campus: nursing students (hooray for DD!), all new first year and transfer students, education majors with internships, performing arts majors, etc. In general, I think it’s good and necessary. I only wonder why they waited until now; it was clear a month ago that having campus at 100% capacity was NOT a good plan!

[DoraBora]

Ds is scheduled to move in on Aug 19th and classes begin on the 24th.  His classes are (currently) in-person, mostly labs, on Mondays and Tuesdays and remote the rest of the week.  His dorm is newer, a suite with separate bedrooms.  He'll share a bath with one other person.

He has a move-in appointment, which isn't that unusual, but he can only take one other person at a time inside with him.  Everyone has to answer questions and have temp checks.  I don't fully understand how dining will work.

Thank you for starting this thread, @AEC.  I will report back after next week's move-in, or sooner if we hear anything new.  (I've been waiting for a huge, game-changing announcement for months.)

[Shelly in VA]

Dd moved in this past weekend. She will be an RA this year, so it is only student staff on campus at this point. Most of their staff training this week is online, so she spent 6 hours in Zoom training yesterday in her room by herself. 🙄 But she and the others in her section of housing walked together to pick up their grab-and-go dinner. The majority of move-in starts Saturday, staggered over a week, with everyone assigned a 2 hour window and only 1 person allowed on campus to help the student with move in.

Classes start 8/24. All but one of dd's classes has been moved online over the course of the summer, and the only one that will still be in person is actually only having one day a week in person with the other days online. Really there are hardly any classes meeting in person at this point, even though on paper it appears that the university is hybrid for the fall. 

Also, at this point, everything will be online after Thanksgiving, BUT students are allowed to stay on campus until Christmas break starts. Which makes no sense to me! Even in this new era when so little makes sense, this decision tops the confusing list for me! 🤣 

[BusyMom5]

Not sure if I count, my DD is doing Dual Enrollment so no move in day.   Finally signed DD up yesterday - 2 online and 2 seated classes.   We had hoped for all on campus before Covid.  Yesterday they said 1 of the seated classes could be switched to online- they are still rearranging things but the advisorlet us know that's being discussed.  The other seated class, due to room size issues, may be just 1x per week in class, or possibly kids in several rooms social distanced, zooming with the teacher from another room.  They are still figuring it out.  We have waited until the week before class bc they keep making changes,  but it looks like no one knows.  We will just make it through the semester or year however she can- it is whatever it is.  It did seem like they were trying to prioritize science, English, etc for on campus with things like accounting,  economics online.  

Edit- now just one in person class.  No details on how it will be yet.

Edit 2- the one in person class will divide students into rooms to social distance and they will Zoom from whichever room the teacher is in- she will rotate.  No one is to come to class sick, masks mandatory,  assigned seats, go straight in and to your assigned desk.

Edited August 17, 2020 by BusyMom5

[almondbutterandjelly]

So far, at my dd's university, they are scheduling fun stuff for the first two weeks like they usually do.  Most of it is outdoors on the East Lawn.  There will also be a drive in movie in one of the large parking lots.  A few items are virtual.  I'm so glad they are planning fun things for the kids.

[AEC]

On 8/11/2020 at 9:05 AM, Shelly in VA said:

so she spent 6 hours in Zoom training yesterday in her room by herself. 

just like my every working day.  We had all better get used to this.  😕

 

DS moves in on 8/30 and all his classes were originally in person. Just today, we've received notice that some will be remote - sort-of. His voice lesson and music theory class will both be conduced from some room on campus where he's the only one in the room and the instructor will be over zoom. The school send a list of acceptable mics and you bring your laptop and plug it in. Apparently the rooms have pianos, which they'll need. The students are supposed to go through a cleaning protocol before their class/lesson starts and after they're done, and the room will be empty for about an hour between students. It'd really piss off your neighbors if you were singing full-bore from your dorm room, so I understand why they're sending them someplace else for that.

Given that, I wonder why they're bothering to have the mandatory freshman history/culture class in-person. That seems like the easiest one to do as a zoom class.  <shrug>

 

 

 

[Eos]

DS senior is heading back 8/24 to mostly in-person classes, living in an on-campus house with three housemates (separate rooms) who are all biology/pre-med so are being very careful as is DS.  I feel quite good about the campus preparedness - they've de-densified by creating a year-round academic year and moved second and third years to a mix of fall, spring, and summer semesters.  All students will have a single room.  Everyone goes home for Thanksgiving and stays home for reading period and finals online.  Everyone will get tested when they arrive, then quarantine in their rooms until they get results.  There will be some continued testing, though not as robust as they originally planned.  There's a hotel owned by the college that will be the infirmary/isolation for sick kids.  All this said, he and I both expect classes to quickly move to all online when the virus hits.  

He's been nominated to be on the board that will decide discipline for protocol breaks.  The students have all signed an honor code agreement to not break protocol which includes no gatherings, masks outside of dorm rooms, daily temp taking, and distancing.

Orientation is all online.  Move-in is assigned for a particular day with a half hour increment to arrive and unload.  I'll check back in as the fall progresses.  I hold him and your college students in the light as we traverse this bit of our time.

[Kate in Arabia]

My younger ds is registered for a normal load of classes, started off with 1 online and 4 hybrid.. I think it's now switched to 4 online and 1 hybrid. He's a commuter student; as far as I can tell from the univ parents FB page, they had a normal move in weekend for all the on-campus folks.. I'm just wondering what this is going to look like for students who are on campus but virtually all their classes are online. It seems like a big experiment, to see whether there will be issues.  They have daily screenings they have to complete online, which I'm dubious of, and testing was strongly recommended but not required before going to campus.

My older ds just registered for his fall semester, all his classes are in-person.  One had the option of online or in person, but the meeting times are the same days as all his other classes, so it seemed logical that if he was already there for a good part of the day he could go ahead and attend this one as well. It's more of a commuter school, they are requiring COVID tests for everyone, and are providing those on campus. I'm kind of happy that, with this schedule, he only needs to go in for two days a week; he's also applying for a paid internship, which also states that a bulk of it is distance. 

My boys live with my parents, who are (obviously) older and my dad specifically has medical issues.. so they are being quite careful. The big question for us is whether they should continue taking public transportation or pay for a car... I'm leaning towards the car option; I know there are measures being implemented for the city's public transport system, but it seems less risky to me for them to drive over taking a city bus. I'm still a little unsure on that.

[almondbutterandjelly]

My dd went to campus last night to hand out swag bags to freshmen in dorms.  The dorms are apartments, not your old-fashioned group situation.  Everybody was wearing masks.  Nobody was social distancing. 

Everybody was nervous about whether online and blended classes were synchronous or not because the professors have not clarified that in most situations.  Some classes meet in person, but only once as week.  The other times they meet online, sometimes in a scheduled way and sometimes randomly when the professor decides.  Again unsure whether any online meetings are synchronous or not.  School starts Wednesday. 

[catz]

We did a LONG journey yesterday to partially move kid into a new apartment.  He is in a very committed pre-professional auditioned campus group that was supposed to have an intensive performing camp starting yesterday but that was moved online.  So he decided to stay home a few more weeks.  He's in a  not huge apartment with 2 other guys moving in and just needs a little more space.  Not to mention, food service isn't open to apartment dwellers so figuring out food overnight while busy from 9-5 daily didn't seem idea when he can't just wander around and grab something easily.  His classes are all online but these guys signed their lease in January as is common on his campus.  There are some in person classes on his campus.  He may wait until a week into the semester to make sure everything is settling well.  If it doesn't work well I am fine if he comes home too.  He's a music major (and comp sci).  If music is all online having more space than a small apartment will allow may be helpful, especially if they need to close to practice rooms again.  The campus plan sounds good but it's a huge big ten campus, there are frats/sororities, etc so lots of unknows.  My kid is very conservative in his choices but not sure about his roomies though both have been very SIP all summer it sounds like. 

 

[RootAnn]

Dd#1 moved in yesterday. Classes start Wednesday. She has a combo of all online, hybrid (half the class go half the week, the other half go the other half the week, online the rest), and traditional in person. I have no idea how campus looks as she did it all herself.

Dd#2 starts her DE classes today. One is in person twice per week. One is all online. Walking into a complete unknown today...  

[*LC]

I read today that UNC cancelled all in-person classes for fall semester. I have relatives in NC and one told me in June that this was the plan for the fall.

Lanny, I know your daughter has been gone a long time, so I looked up Spirit tickets to Colombia for you. It looks like they are selling tickets to Bogota starting the end of August. One-way tickets from Raleigh to Bogota or Cali or Cartagena are less than $100 the first week of September. Of course, there is no guarantee that these flights will happen, but it might be a chance to have your daughter home for the fall if that is what your family wants. 

 

 

 

[Hoggirl]

^I immediately thought of Lanny’s daughter as well

😞

So thoughtful of you to look up flight info.

 

[Kassia]

1 hour ago, Hoggirl said:

^I immediately thought of Lanny’s daughter as well

😞

So thoughtful of you to look up flight info.

 

 

Yes, so thoughtful!

We moved our daughter in to the freshman dorm last Wednesday.  She has her own room, but two suitemates - they share a common area, a room with three sinks (each get their own), and there is one toilet room and one shower room that the three of them share.  Dd has one hybrid class that is in person once a week and meets remotely once a week, two classes that meet remotely, and the other classes are online asynchronously.  

Today was the first day of classes.  Two confirmed cases of covid were reported - one is a student in a different freshman dorm who has been using the dining hall.  Both students have been in the activity center.  My dd has been at the gym every day, but a different gym.  

I'm definitely concerned about campus shutting down.  She is 1200 miles away - 18 hours drive each way.  

 

[easypeasy]

DD2 got settled in her dorm last week and classes started today. She has a mix of online, hybrid, and in-person classes. The hybrids are the worst because the "when you are supposed to actually ATTEND classes" isn't as clear as one would expect. One class is online until the third Wednesday, or something like that. So it'll be tough to get into a rhythm with this wacky schedule, I think.

I've been 100% pleased with the way her university is handling all of this. Move-in went smoothly. Most of the kids are keeping their masks on while walking around campus and always when inside buildings. DD is already making friends in spite of the masks and social distancing, which is an enormous relief.

We'll just keep our fingers crossed that they're able to stay put for a semester!!

[Lanny]

12 hours ago, *LC said:

I read today that UNC cancelled all in-person classes for fall semester. I have relatives in NC and one told me in June that this was the plan for the fall.

Lanny, I know your daughter has been gone a long time, so I looked up Spirit tickets to Colombia for you. It looks like they are selling tickets to Bogota starting the end of August. One-way tickets from Raleigh to Bogota or Cali or Cartagena are less than $100 the first week of September. Of course, there is no guarantee that these flights will happen, but it might be a chance to have your daughter home for the fall if that is what your family wants.

 

When I read that a major "college" and then I clicked and saw that the school is Carolina, I was very sad for DD and all of the other students there.  DD has/had several in-person courses: Astronomy Lab and Classics Honors course (approx. 11 students in that) and one of her C.S. courses. Tomorrow, I believe everything will be Online.

With regard to SPIRIT AIRLINES, sadly (for DD) they changed the schedule of their flights between Cali and Ft. Lauderdale and V.V. and it would now require overnight in Ft. Lauderdale. There are only 2 airlines that can provide service between that city pair, with only one connection. SPIRIT and American. For many reasons, including the horrible financial situation of American Airlines, a huge contrast to the financial situation of SPIRIT, we would prefer SPIRIT. 

However, to give you some insight into this...   Yes, the airlines are selling tickets, as they did when DD bought a ticket to go from Raleigh to Cali on American, for early May 2020 and then American had to cancel, because our airports are closed. Thank God, DD had paid with her Credit Card and she did receive a Refund, not a Credit, to her CC account.   🙂

Now, the hope is that airline service here will resume on 01 September 2020.   I hope so, because we would like to buy tickets for DD to come home when the Fall semester ends (around Thanksgiving) and be here until the first of January 2021.  However, just as the people here have had the "SIP" date extended multiple times (currently through August 2020) the date of airline service has also been delayed once or twice. But, the airlines sell tickets like crazy, so they have "cash flow". American, for example, was "burning" 55 million dollars a day ("burning cash") a few months ago.  So, my plan is that when International flights from/to the USA have begun operating again, we will wait 7 to 10 days and then buy the tickets for DD.

Someone in a travel forum posted that he thinks (or read) that Colombia will begin to permit Domestic flights on 01 September and International flights on 01 November and that sounds reasonable to me. Fingers crossed that flights from the USA will be permitted, because of the COVID-19 there, but that's questionable.

FWIW at the beginning of 2020, of the largest U.S. flag carriers, SPIRIT AIRLINES was in the best financial position. American was in the worst financial position.

Note: I read the sub Reddit for UNC. There have been a lot of threads there, for months, from people who believed that starting the Fall 2020 semester in-person was going to be problematic and that the students would come to campus and then have something like this happen and they would go "Online".  Sadly, they were correct.  "Carolina" and the UNC system studied this and then they crossed their fingers and prayed, but sadly it didn't work out to be successful. They had several possible ways to do this and none of them were without issues. The least horrible, etc.

Thank you for thinking about DD and our family!

[AEC]

DS was just notified that he will have a new roommate.  Move-in is next week. Apparently the previous one withdrew from the college. I'm a bit disappointed in old-roommate that he didn't even say anything. <shrug>

[katilac]

My dd had an exception and never left the dorms (she is local but stays on campus). They are always 1 person per room, 2 people sharing bathroom. They have not allowed any visitors to the dorm since everything blew up in March, and that will continue. Masking required everywhere except your own room. 

She has 3 classes starting in person and 3 starting remotely. They go completely remote after Thanksgiving. 

On 8/11/2020 at 9:05 AM, Shelly in VA said:

 Also, at this point, everything will be online after Thanksgiving, BUT students are allowed to stay on campus until Christmas break starts. Which makes no sense to me! Even in this new era when so little makes sense, this decision tops the confusing list for me! 🤣 

I would assume it's because most students who travel home for Thanksgiving will just go ahead and vacate the dorm then - most won't come back for the last bit that will be remote, with a big chunk of it finals. Of the ones who stay on campus, being completely remote does at least reduce exposure. 

[RootAnn]

So, dd#2's campus has requested you always sit in the seat you sat in the first class. Everyone cleans their desk area before leaving. Everyone is supposed to be masked inside the buildings & if not able to social distance. (The latter isn't happening.)

There is supposed to be an app they use every day for symptoms & contact tracing. I know this only because someone from the school called DD before classes stared to get a parent email address because DD isn't 18 & thus needs parental permission for the school to make her use the app. But DD has heard nothing since & I never got an email. Soooo, no idea on that.

Supposedly everyone who lives on campus got a COVID test before moving in & commuters were highly encouraged (not required) to receive one. Don't know what the compliance on that was... It is going to be an interesting semester.

[AEC]

masks are required everywhere, and you change the frequently.  the school suggested you bring 30 reusable/washable masks. cause apparently no one does laundry. <shrug>

You're supposed to wear them all the time when not in your room (I'm totally fine with that policy, fwiw).

just today, 100% shuffle of class times and days.  no change to onsite vs not, but all at totally new times. who knows.  it will definitely be interesting.

Edited August 19, 2020 by AEC

[Bootsie]

5 hours ago, katilac said:

I would assume it's because most students who travel home for Thanksgiving will just go ahead and vacate the dorm then - most won't come back for the last bit that will be remote, with a big chunk of it finals. Of the ones who stay on campus, being completely remote does at least reduce exposure. 

My univ is finishing most things before Thanksgiving, so that people who are going home for Thanksgiving want travel back.  But the university will remain open (or that's the plan right now) through December because some students have jobs or internships and cannot go home at Thanksgiving.  Some students also need access to the library and labs to be able to continue research. 

[Bootsie]

4 hours ago, RootAnn said:

So, dd#2's campus has requested you always sit in the seat you sat in the first class. Everyone cleans their desk area before leaving. Everyone is supposed to be masked inside the buildings & if not able to social distance. (The latter isn't happening.)

DS's school wants students to walk in single file and fill seats from the back of the room to the front and then walk out of the classroom single file, also.  SO, professors who are trying to learn student names and faces will have a Merry-go-round of seating of students with masks covering their faces.  

[Serenade]

My son's classes at Western Carolina started this week.  All of his classes and labs are hybrid.  One of his classes ha switched to all online without any notice to him (!),  but he saw his schedule last week and was able to switch to a section that was still hybrid  It was organic chem, so that was a good thing.  He had three face-to-face classes yesterday, all different.  His genetics class was fairly traditional, with the exception of social distancing and masks, his organic chem class had 1/3 of the class attend in person with the rest of the class attending via zoom, and his organic chem lab was a bit of a disappointment because nobody can have lab partners this semester due to covid.  So far Western doesn't have many cases of corona. I hope he'll get to stay there for at least a couple of weeks.  Sigh.

[teachermom2834]

My 17 yo ds starts de today at the local private U. His school was the last in the state to go fully remote in the spring and has been insistent all summer that everything would be in person as planned. They have walked things back little by little. First masks were allowed, then encouraged, now required. They have an app they have to fill out a health screening everyday. If they pass that the screen changes to yellow and they proceed to a temp check the first time they enter an academic building. If he passes the temp check his screen will turn green and he will be good to be on campus for the day. He has three classes. Two have moved to hybrid (half the class each day while the other class zooms) and one is still fully in person because it is small enough to distance adequately in the room. He is lucky. Most of the kids he knows have gotten emails the last few days that moved them fully online.

We'll see how it goes. The population of the student body and teachers definitely skews toward the side that is skeptical of masks. One professor told them he will be masking according to requirements but that he and his entire family has already had Covid. Another teacher told them they won't need masks in the classroom. It will be interesting to see how it shakes out. We are in an area that the political will is on the side of keeping things open.

Someday my town can be a case study in approaching the pandemic with a goal of herd immunity. We haven't had much mitigation here and we have had plenty of Covid. 

[elegantlion]

My son's university started their semester 2 weeks early and will end the semester at Thanksgiving break. The set up has been a nightmare for instructors, IT, and the people in charge of setting up classrooms. 

Ds is fully online - only going part time this year to finish his degree. I'm glad, because first day reports from other students were not good. Social distancing was not happening in certain places. Some class rooms were set up improperly so sitting socially distanced wasn't happening. One student reported a class mate chewing on their mask, then pulling it down in class to chew on their pencil. I guess students are supposed to disinfect their own areas, but that wasn't happening in the cafeteria. There are normally a bunch of chairs and coffee tables set up just outside the cafeteria, apparently students were using that area and also not disinfecting. 

I talked with an instructor and asked whose job it was to police students. They said in the classrooms, it's their responsibility, but outside of it, they're not required to confront students - although I know some would. It's going to be an interesting semester. 

I give the in person classes until the end of September until they all move online. Just my speculation. 

 

My university is supposed to be very strict about mask usage and room usage. We start next week. I'm all online and won't have to go to campus at all. 

 

[RootAnn]

I can't find the thread where people were commenting on sending their kid with 20 masks and I said mine wouldn't have very many, but I am eating crow. With the masks bring mandated & the humidity/temps in the south, my kid just asked for some more.

I am glad to have tried a couple types. We like Boca for fabric, and design, but they are on the small side & pricey! Going with some etsy shops for more and hoping for the best. 

[AEC]

2 hours ago, RootAnn said:

I can't find the thread where people were commenting on sending their kid with 20 masks and I said mine wouldn't have very many, but I am eating crow. With the masks bring mandated & the humidity/temps in the south, my kid just asked for some more.

I am glad to have tried a couple types. We like Boca for fabric, and design, but they are on the small side & pricey! Going with some etsy shops for more and hoping for the best. 

DS's college suggested 30, which he's taking.

DD16 did her EagleScout project coordinating the construction and distribution of reusable/washable cloth masks to various community groups (churches, daycares, a women's shelter, and the general public). All told, she + team made and distributed ~1600 cloth masks.  https://eagleabby.wixsite.com/abby   has links to the patterns used + detailed instructions and how-to videos.  (https://4fbf9280-895f-4488-9f71-538553b85597.filesusr.com/ugd/5c88d0_442bda68539e410c918541adcd4ba03e.pdf is the best fittest mask instruction, imo). They're pretty easy to sew if you have a machine. a yard of fabric will get you 10 of the fitted ones, in whatever fun print you like. It's easy enough that a half-dozen scouts, including some boys, who have never sewn were able to make 100s.

 

 

Edited August 19, 2020 by AEC

[RootAnn]

@AEC I made all of us masks (one each) at the beginning but everyone prefers the ones I bought over mine. "No offense, Mom, but ..."

Dd#1 said the college-supplied ones are no good & she thinks the ones I sent with her are some of the better ones. There was no recommendation I saw on how many to send from her college. Dd wore disposible surgical types all summer at work & will wear them again as needed until the additional ones I bought come in. She has less than 5 cloth reusables but likes to keep them stashed in various places which cuts down on her rotating supply for during the day.

First day of in person classes today. I'm trying to find out if the college will release any info on how many cases they saw before move-in (mandatory testing prior to arrival) and how many they are seeing in sentinel testing.

[ElizabethB]

On 8/11/2020 at 8:05 AM, Shelly in VA said:

 

Also, at this point, everything will be online after Thanksgiving, BUT students are allowed to stay on campus until Christmas break starts. Which makes no sense to me! Even in this new era when so little makes sense, this decision tops the confusing list for me! 🤣 

My daughter's college is doing the same.

It makes sense--they want everyone that travels to stay home, that would be a lot of mixing to fly/drive home and then come back for just a bit, but some people will need to stay on campus for various reasons, so they keep it open, they can go virtual from their dorm. 

The fly drive home back after 1st semester will likely cause a bit of a spike, but at least they won't be having that twice.

[Melissa B]

My daughter moved back to the dorms last Sunday. Her classes started Monday. She has two in person and two online - one with zoom lectures and one straight online. Her in person classes are in large lecture hall classrooms, but with only about 20 students, all well spaced. She went to the bookstore to buy her books and they didn't have any. It didn't make sense to them to order any as it was so unclear whether or not there would even be anyone on campus. I wish they would have thought to send out an email to that effect! She ordered all of her books on Amazon. They should all arrive sometime this week. But packages have really been delayed, so we will see. Otherwise, so far so good. - 

[Lanny]

11 hours ago, Melissa B said:

<snip> She went to the bookstore to buy her books and they didn't have any. It didn't make sense to them to order any as it was so unclear whether or not there would even be anyone on campus. I wish they would have thought to send out an email to that effect! She ordered all of her books on Amazon. They should all arrive sometime this week. But packages have really been delayed, so we will see. Otherwise, so far so good. - 

 

That is something I had not contemplated...   When DD was a "first-year" I was only involved in the purchase of one textbook for her, which saved a lot of $    Now that she is a 2nd year student, unexpectedly, at the last minute, I ended up buying 5 books for her from 3 Sellers on eBay, which saved $. After I bought the first textbook, she swapped out of that course, Thank God, so she can give that textbook away. Less than $5 total cost.  I have a couple of suggestions for you, for future textbook purchases:

(1) I begin on

https://www.bookfinder.com/

and (2) I do not pay for Faster Shipping. Incongruous as it may seem, at first, frequently, that slows down delivery of the item. The 5 books I ordered for DD on 03 August 2020, one arrived on 07 August, 3 were delivered on 10 August (USPS Media Mail tried to deliver one of her textbooks to her Mail Room, which was closed, on Sunday, 09 August 2020!) and the last textbook was delivered on 13 August.

Note: DD had also sent me information about 2 books for her Classics Honors course, but when I checked on Bookfinder and on the web page of the UNC Bookstore, they were about the same price, or lower, in the UNC Bookstore, so I decided she should purchase them from the UNC Bookstore.  The possibility that the bookstore wouldn't have ordered books, because of the Covid-19 situation did not occur to me, so now I have added that to my "data base" of information. Thank you for posting about that!

[MerryAtHope]

 My daughter has one in person class, and they are doing some thing pretty neat at her school. Each class meeting in the same room has a different color, and the desks are marked by dots. So for example, one class all the students sit at the blue desks, the next class they might sit at the red desks, and the next class at the yellow desks. Then all the seats are sanitized. Makes a lot of sense.

[easypeasy]

On 8/19/2020 at 11:00 AM, RootAnn said:

I can't find the thread where people were commenting on sending their kid with 20 masks and I said mine wouldn't have very many, but I am eating crow. With the masks bring mandated & the humidity/temps in the south, my kid just asked for some more.

I am glad to have tried a couple types. We like Boca for fabric, and design, but they are on the small side & pricey! Going with some etsy shops for more and hoping for the best. 

I sent my daughter with what seemed to be a lot - but I just mailed a package to her with a dozen more. Most are handmade and some are purchased. 

While she *technically* had enough ... she's wearing them soooo much, I wanted to send her some different ones just to change it up! lol Those masks are a large part of her wardrobe right now!

[Arch at Home]

On 8/20/2020 at 6:52 AM, Lanny said:

 

That is something I had not contemplated...   When DD was a "first-year" I was only involved in the purchase of one textbook for her, which saved a lot of $    Now that she is a 2nd year student, unexpectedly, at the last minute, I ended up buying 5 books for her from 3 Sellers on eBay, which saved $. After I bought the first textbook, she swapped out of that course, Thank God, so she can give that textbook away. Less than $5 total cost.  I have a couple of suggestions for you, for future textbook purchases:

To possibly add to your list of book buying tips, I learned when my kids were dual enrolled with a public school, never to buy books in advance. As you mention, there is always the possibility of a course change but even more frequent we find that after attending the first class, they have better information regarding exactly what the instructor wants. DS came home with acceptable editions and specific versions of texts books that the instructor want. In addition, we do opt for rentals as they are definitely less expensive and have no need to have to figure out what to do with the book at the end of the semester. That said we have never had any trouble with returning rentals. This method does mean that we have to turn to companies with quick turn around but luckily we have Amazon Prime and have had no problem getting the books needed in time. In addition, we use the school bookstore for all "books" that require codes. I find it too hard to figure out what online sellers are offering with regards to codes and a mistake in this area is costly.

[RootAnn]

10 minutes ago, Arch at Home said:

In addition, we use the school bookstore for all "books" that require codes. I find it too hard to figure out what online sellers are offering with regards to codes and a mistake in this area is costly.

I tend to check with the publisher for these (codes) because the publisher tends to be cheaper by $20 or more.

[Lanny]

1 hour ago, Arch at Home said:

To possibly add to your list of book buying tips, I learned when my kids were dual enrolled with a public school, never to buy books in advance. As you mention, there is always the possibility of a course change but even more frequent we find that after attending the first class, they have better information regarding exactly what the instructor wants. DS came home with acceptable editions and specific versions of texts books that the instructor want. In addition, we do opt for rentals as they are definitely less expensive and have no need to have to figure out what to do with the book at the end of the semester. That said we have never had any trouble with returning rentals. This method does mean that we have to turn to companies with quick turn around but luckily we have Amazon Prime and have had no problem getting the books needed in time. In addition, we use the school bookstore for all "books" that require codes. I find it too hard to figure out what online sellers are offering with regards to codes and a mistake in this area is costly.

 

DD had told me that in general, they suggest to the students that they wait until the first day of class, before buying textbooks and other required books.  However, for example, she had the Syllabus for one course recently (the one that she swapped out of, for several reasons) which said the Professor expected the students to have everything needed, ready to go, when they arrived for the first class. And I read in a thread on the sub Reddit for UNC, about CHEM professors, for example, who if the students don't show up for the first class with everything on the list, ready to roll, the professor will kick them out of the class and take someone who was wait listed and has everything ready to go to go to work So there are 2 sides of that story, as is often the case.

Where we had a huge financial issue was the 9th edition of the Astronomy textbook.  I suspect that it is out of print and also that 2 Amazon Sellers got into a price war (those can go up or down) with their computerized pricing algorithms and on BookFinder it was $353.10 Used.   The only option for the 9th edition was to rent it, but I had read several posts here on WTM where people rented and then when they returned the book to the company, the company said the book was damaged and charged them for a Brand New Book. We could not take that risk and I suggested to DD that she contact the Professor and ask if an earlier edition would be OK. He replied the next day and said that she could use the 8th or 7th edition. I bought her the 7th edition for $5.90 including NC tax and thank God and the Professor for that and for eliminating the risk of what can go wrong with a rental of a textbook in that price range.

The Astronomy professor did suggest to the class on the first day that they purchase one of the 2 Access Codes from the Publisher and that saved DD a few dollars. She will buy the other Access Code in the UNC Bookstore if she hasn't already done that.   Very thankful that the Astronomy Professor didn't insist on the 9th edition of the textbook.  🙂

ETA: The $5.90 included Shipping and NC tax

 

 

Edited August 21, 2020 by Lanny
add ETA

[iamonlyone]

Our daughter has been on campus three days now, and her roommate and best friend already had to quarantine one day while waiting to see if a student that the roommate was training with tested positive for Covid. (She didn't, and roommate is back in circulation.) The person tested had a stuffy nose and a scratchy throat and has known allergies, so they are thinking it's the allergies. But, wow, the disruption starts early! (Classes start next Tuesday. These are all students on campus training for various student leadership positions.)

[easypeasy]

6 hours ago, Arch at Home said:

To possibly add to your list of book buying tips, I learned when my kids were dual enrolled with a public school, never to buy books in advance. As you mention, there is always the possibility of a course change but even more frequent we find that after attending the first class, they have better information regarding exactly what the instructor wants. DS came home with acceptable editions and specific versions of texts books that the instructor want. In addition, we do opt for rentals as they are definitely less expensive and have no need to have to figure out what to do with the book at the end of the semester. That said we have never had any trouble with returning rentals. This method does mean that we have to turn to companies with quick turn around but luckily we have Amazon Prime and have had no problem getting the books needed in time. In addition, we use the school bookstore for all "books" that require codes. I find it too hard to figure out what online sellers are offering with regards to codes and a mistake in this area is costly.

 

We followed this tip until DD walked into an Anatomy class and the professor "threw the book" at them. DD had lecture, followed by lab. 80% of the students had neither and the professor was *livid* and everyone who didn't have a book, or who wasn't lucky enough to be seated at a table with someone WITH a book, got a zero for attendance and the (mega-points) labwork for that entire day. This was Day2 of her sophomore year.

Since then - DD1 went to first day of class with every. stinking. book. they had listed online. She never again *needed* them on first day of class, but we weren't willing to chance it again because DD was traumatized (the professor just went unhinged... it was incredibly unprofessional... but the prof was just stunned that so many students didn't "bother" to buy the $425 textbook+online access in advance. She was equally livid with those who had purchased the online access, but hadn't yet fully set it up. The fact that they didn't yet HAVE THE INFORMATION THEY NEEDED to set it up didn't matter... lol). (DD eventually had to drop that anatomy course. Starting out in the red certainly didn't help matters).

[Lanny]

Well, as you know, UNC got most, if not all, of the terrible publicity, earlier this week and then a bunch of other schools joined the list. Notre Dame with a higher percentage rate, etc.   I will update you on what Carolina is doing now to try to get a handle on the Covid-19 issues on campus:

(1) Today (Friday) and over the weekend, they will be testing people in three (3) of the Residence Halls where there have been "Clusters" (5 or more cases that are in close proximity I think is the definition of a Cluster)  (I believe they have approximately 50 Residence Halls)

Thank God, my DD isn't in one of those 3 Residence Halls  🙂

(2) They will not have classes next Monday or Tuesday, to give the students a chance to breathe and if they are moving out, to do that.

(3) They had announced, a month or so ago, that they had two (2) Residence Halls ready to go, if students needed to be quarantined or were "Positive" for Covid-19

I believe what they are doing now is fine. They had a bunch of possible options for the Fall Semester, none of which were perfect and they went with the "we will be in-person" and it turned into a disaster, but now they are getting a handle on it and they are IMO doing good things.

ETA: They will make up the time lost because of no classes next Monday or Tuesday, before the end of the semester.

Edited August 21, 2020 by Lanny
add ETA

[Arch at Home]

On 8/21/2020 at 2:10 PM, easypeasy said:

 

We followed this tip until DD walked into an Anatomy class and the professor "threw the book" at them. DD had lecture, followed by lab. 80% of the students had neither and the professor was *livid* and everyone who didn't have a book, or who wasn't lucky enough to be seated at a table with someone WITH a book, got a zero for attendance and the (mega-points) labwork for that entire day. This was Day2 of her sophomore year.

Since then - DD1 went to first day of class with every. stinking. book. they had listed online. She never again *needed* them on first day of class, but we weren't willing to chance it again because DD was traumatized (the professor just went unhinged... it was incredibly unprofessional... but the prof was just stunned that so many students didn't "bother" to buy the $425 textbook+online access in advance. She was equally livid with those who had purchased the online access, but hadn't yet fully set it up. The fact that they didn't yet HAVE THE INFORMATION THEY NEEDED to set it up didn't matter... lol). (DD eventually had to drop that anatomy course. Starting out in the red certainly didn't help matters).

This is horrible. We will have to keep an eye on this with regards the DS's future college. The cultute at both of the girls' colleges is that many students are still trying to finalize their course lists during the first week of classes so there is no reason to buy books if you don't yet know what your are taking.

[easypeasy]

16 hours ago, Arch at Home said:

This is horrible. We will have to keep an eye on this with regards the DS's future college. The cultute at both of the girls' colleges is that many students are still trying to finalize their course lists during the first week of classes so there is no reason to buy books if you don't yet know what your are taking.

 

It WAS horrible. I wish there was an easier way for the professors to communicate with the students who have pre-enrolled in their classes. They could clarify easily what books truly are, or aren't necessary, and save everyone tons of $$$ and headache. As the system stands now, DD has to email every professor. She's gotten some pretty snarky replies (including "if it lists the book for the course, then it should be obvious...." from a professor who announced on Day One of class that the online book was NOT necessary for the class (that's what the bookstore had listed) and that the kids could buy "any edition" of the book they wanted. Many kids ordered on amazon and most didn't have their books in-hand for the first three weeks of class). It's a ridiculously clunky system to communicate some VERY simple information.

[Lanny]

After my previous post in this thread,  UNC announced that there was also a "Cluster" (as defined by NC state law) in the Dorm where DD is. She went on Sunday, for the examination for COVID-19, which was "Negative".  I was praying it would be "Negative" and I thank God for that.   🙂

[RootAnn]

Dd#1 was informed this morning she was randomly selected for sentinel COVID testing. She is hoping they aren't using the rapid test due to the high false positive rate. This will be, I think, the fifth time she's been covid tested (but only the third time for her college), so she's a veteran but thoroughly sick of the process.

Dd#2's DE college requested all students to download & use an app to track/report symptoms daily. They previously requested students to get tested. (I think you had to get tested if you were moving into the dorms but don't know that for sure.) I don't know how much compliance the college is getting with "requests" vs. requiring. This college has a regular online degree program but also has about 1000 students on campus/in person (a guess). Dd#2 had at least one classmate just get out of quarantine on Wednesday.

[teachermom2834]

Well now my ds who is taking de at the local U has now gone from online/hybrid classes TO all face to face classes. His professors just really hated the hybrid and have worked out solutions with bigger rooms/installing dividers between desks/etc. 

[RootAnn]

... University of Alabama continues to create controversy. Professors don't feel safe and students in quarantine are on the honor system (but maybe aren't behaving honorably).

https://news.yahoo.com/amphtml/university-alabama-faculty-reportedly-told-215611361.html