Student Perspectives on a Unique Semester

Story posted November 20, 2020 in CommRadio, News by Trevor Grady

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — 2020 has been full of unique experiences, and this semester at Penn State has been no different. From hybrid learning, to online finals, to pass-fail grading once again, the fall 2020 semester has been unlike any other.

Penn State junior Mike Legieza, who is majoring in finance, gave his thoughts on the hybrid learning experience.

“It’s pretty unique, definitely different than in person… a lot more responsibilities,” Legieza said. “I definitely want to go back to in person classes just so I go to class more.”

Anthony Pero, who is majoring in finance, said: “I think it is a lot easier, but I am a lot less motivated to get up early in the morning and a lot less motivated to leave the apartment. It makes me feel like I am less productive in the day despite maybe getting better grades.”

Penn State decided to use alternative grading once again this semester, allowing students to choose a passing grade in classes if they are not satisfied with their grade. Legieza shared his thoughts on this.

“It definitely helps out a lot, just because we have been through a lot again this semester,” Legieza said. “So just having that cushion, especially when a lot of students are dealing with other stuff aside from just their basic academics, I think it is really important.”

Pero had a bit of a different perspective on the alternative grading system.

“To be honest, I think it is unnecessary this semester,” Pero said. “Even though I like it and appreciate it, I feel like we all went into this semester understanding that it was going to be fully online.”

This semester was certainly different than anything Penn State has experienced before, and students seem eager to get back to the way it used to be.

 

Trevor Grady is a junior majoring in management information systems. To contact him, email tmg5685@psu.edu.