Zoom – The Western Howl

February 26, 2025

Written by: Sadie Latimer | News Editor

Western prides itself on its campus community, where students are supported and uplifted. Part of that support comes from in-person classes, with small class sizes and personalized experiences for students.

Western’s provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Jose Coll is leading the charge in reducing the amount of online classes offered at Western in favor of in-person instruction. He created a working committee — the Undergraduate Course Modality Task Force — to conduct research and ultimately recommend what percentage of courses should be taught online.

The task force is being led by Chelle Batchelor, dean of library and academic innovation.

According to Batchelor, “The task force is currently in the process of gathering information to inform the recommendation we have been asked to present to the provost and Faculty Senate in spring term.”

Fall and Winter terms were dedicated to determining what would be best for students when it comes to online classes. The task force will share their findings in the Spring term, which will help the university move forward with the change.

The task force is concentrating on all aspects of online learning. “The recommendation of the committee will consider all modalities with an online component: online asynchronous, online synchronous (Zoom classes) and hybrid,” Batchelor stated.

As of now, the task force isn’t focusing on the fully online majors, such as the ASL interpreting program. The provost’s goal is to limit first-year students to only in-person classes starting Fall 2025 unless their declared major is fully online.

This potential decision will only affect the mode of the coursework, and won’t result in faculty cuts. “Teaching a course in person requires the same amount of FTE as teaching a course online,” according to Batchelor. FTE — full-time equivalence — indicates and measures the workload of faculty.

The potential reduction in online courses has been one focal point of the Faculty Senate, which is made up of representatives from the different departments at Western.

“In the December meeting of the Faculty Senate, faculty discussed concerns about program needs, student needs, student engagement and success, and faculty representation on the task force,” Batchelor stated. “After that meeting, Faculty Senate identified a faculty member to serve on the task force.”

Not only has the task force started working more closely with the faculty, but they have also begun to work with ASWOU in order to engage with Western’s students. Specifically, they are working with Senate President Maggie Bartosovsky and Senator Briana McNeel to bridge the gap between the committee and Western’s students.

Batchelor and the committee are also reaching out to students through Wolfie, the chatbot that sends messages to the student body. Wolfie’s text was sent out Feb. 17. The text also included a short survey that students are encouraged to complete.

The survey and other student input is important for making sure that the university’s decision reflects the needs and wants of all students.

Any decision of the university comes with concerns and opinions from Western’s community. Some students are concerned with how class availability will be affected. Students with full-time jobs are concerned with how they will fit in-person classes into their busy schedules. These concerns are being addressed by the task force, and it is up to them and the university to identify solutions that will benefit the students and the community.

“Over and over and over, I hear comments from students about how important the WOU community is to their success,” President Jesse Peters stated in his report during a Board of Trustees meeting. “And when they talk about it, they talk about being physically here on campus and interacting with peers and faculty and staff. Whatever the college experience is, it simply can’t be replicated on Zoom. And the strength of Western has always been, it seems to me, the way that the campus functions to support students and build community. I will continue to focus on restoring our campus to the physically present, active and engaged community it was before the pandemic.”

The COVID-19 pandemic was a major setback for many schools, including Western, and it will be difficult to rebuild the in-person community to what it was previously. President Peters, Provost Coll and the Undergraduate Course Modality task force have a massive undertaking, but are starting relatively small with hopes to reduce the online courses that are offered to first-year students.

It remains to be seen whether or not the provost and the president’s vision of the upcoming fall term will come to fruition. First, the task force must figure out what percentage of courses should be online, taking into account what opinions the students and faculty have voiced. Then, once they present their findings, the university can come to an informed decision that will ultimately benefit Western’s community.

Contact the author at howlnews@mail.wou.edu

The Western Howl

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The military experience

Written by: Michael Hager | Freelancer

Very few people know you can serve your country while getting your degree, and good old Uncle Sam will cover your tuition. I joined the Oregon Army National Guard four years ago when I was a junior in high school, with the intent to go to college and pursue a degree.

Like a lot of people, my family could not afford to send me to college. One of my high school coaches was a Master Sergeant in the Army and also led the Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps — JROTC — program at my school. He told me how the National Guard would pay my tuition, and there I was, 16 years old, with a decision to make.

I always kinda wanted to be in the military — my grandpa was a World War II veteran, my uncle was a veteran and one of my cousins was already in the Guard. I didn’t know what I wanted to do after high school, but my parents wanted me to go to college. I ended up choosing the best of both worlds.

I met with a recruiter and he explained that once I turned 17, all I would need was my parents’ consent, and I could join the National Guard on a six-year contract. This would cover my last two years of high school and four years of college at any school in Oregon I could get into.

After trying to convince my parents, almost exactly a month before the pandemic, I signed a six-year contract with the Oregon Army National Guard. I was able to have an older cousin swear me in, which was pretty cool.

I was sent into the process of split training: Basic Training one summer and Advanced Individual Training — AIT — the next, instead of the normal One Station Unit Training — OSUT — that everyone else would do. This meant that I would go to Basic Combat Training in the summer between my junior and senior years, at the height of the pandemic.

My Basic was supposed to only be 10 weeks but, since it was in the height of the pandemic, we had to quarantine in our barracks for two weeks. I was sent to stay with 40 strangers and the only time we were allowed outside was to get our food. Once we were all clear, we began training

10 weeks later. A few weeks before my senior year started, we graduated from Basic Combat Training. I completed my senior year through Zoom in 2021, and I officially graduated from both high school and Basic. By that time, I had a good idea of where my unit was going to be, and I knew I wanted to be close to my unit while I went to college. That is why I chose Western: my unit is located in Salem.

After graduation, I was all set to come to Western in the Fall of 2021, and I went back to complete AIT with all the same people I did basic with, plus another company who also did the same as us.

At first, it was hell. We had all gone back to high school and lost all our discipline, so the first week or so was Basic all over again.

Eventually, we completed AIT, and we were officially Military Police Officers, which was our Military Occupational Specialty. A couple of weeks before I graduated, myself and two others were told that once we went home, we were being sent to the border by former Governor Kate Brown. The state governor is the Commander-in-Chief of the National Guard.

The plans I had of attending college in the fall were over, and I was on a year-long mission. In October of 2021, instead of getting ready for my freshman year of college, I was sent on my mission, but it wasn’t to the border. Much worse, I was sent to the middle of Indiana in the winter to help process and protect the Afghan refugees that President Joe Biden sent over.

There were around 20,000 refugees who needed to become citizens, and we were projected to be on this tiny base with nothing but a Subway and a cafeteria 10 times worse than Valsetz.

Luckily, we were able to go home six months later in the middle of what would’ve been the spring term of my freshman year. I was able to register for the following fall semester, which puts me one year behind my peers.

I started going to Drill, which is where we meet up one weekend a month and train for different things. I started school and continued to go to drill once a month, and then I joined the Men’s Rugby Club.

My drill schedule interferes with matches and tournaments, but I can work it out with my coaches, and I’m still playing. Drill, for the most part, doesn’t affect my school work except during finals week.

As a student in the military, I also have access to the Veterans’ Resource Center on campus, which connects me to other military students and resources I can use. On Veterans’ Day, they hold different events I can participate in; one such event is the annual 5K Ruck ‘n Run, which I won last year.

This is my journey through the military, and it varies for everyone across the branches. All in all, the National Guard is a great way to make connections, gain experience and get college paid for.

Contact the author at mhager20@wou.edu

The Western Howl

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Zoomed out from Zoom lectures

Tips for staying awake during online classes

Allison Vanderzanden | Lifestyle Editor

After a full year of classes through Zoom, a lucky few have mastered schooling from home. For the rest of us, the simple task of staying awake for the entire lecture is still daunting. Try these tips for staying awake during online classes.

Start off the day as if classes were in person; get dressed, sit down for a cup of coffee and perform the usual morning routine. Getting up a bit early to do some light exercise can also jumpstart the mind and body so that by class time, they will be ready and alert.

Though taking class in a cozy bed sounds tempting, it can make one drowsy in a hurry. Instead, work at a designated space, such as a desk or dining table. If still nodding off in this workspace, try standing up for parts of or all of class.

Active participation contributes to learning and also keeps one alert. Take thorough notes and write down questions to ask when the opportunity arises. Alternatively, contribute to the discussion by answering questions and presenting personal thoughts on the subject. This will keep the brain working and fight off fatigue.

My personal favorite tip is to eat food or drink something during class. When starting to doze off, give the body something to do by reaching for a snack or drink. Eventually the body will get a boost of energy as well, especially from foods like oatmeal, nuts and fruits.

If these quick tips aren’t doing the trick, it may be time to re-examine one’s daily routine. Combat drowsiness at the source by getting more and better sleep at night — check out our tips for better sleep article on our website, wou.edu/westernhowl.

Contact the author at avanderzanden19@mail.wou.edu

Online courses: yea or nay?

The military experience

Zoomed out from Zoom lectures

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