In our university, a college student asked me why I had given her a lower grade.
She protested that while she attended my classes and delivered a report as a supposed requirement, I still did not give her a high grade. She admitted, though, that she is a working student, trying to make both ends meet. She is balancing help for her family and continuing her schooling.
Another student asked why I dropped her off the list. This time, she did not argue about her attendance and participation in the class. I told her that it was because of her absences that she was dropped and that I had kept a clear record to support my decision.
In graduate education, some students seemed to deviate from the traditional way of getting a graduate degree. Before, students knew that entering graduate school would require time and resources and that the process would be long and hard.
I believe there is no deviation from the culture of learning, even if time has altered its way since the pandemic.
I reflected on how things could’ve been changed by academic authorities to fit with the supposed situations and conditions during the pandemic.
Supposedly, the post-pandemic period would allow for a gradual reversion to the kind of learning conditions adhered to by institutions and professionals.
After all, the accommodations made to adapt to situations during the pandemic were meant not to shorten the academic process but to ensure that learners are understood while they struggle to survive the Covid-19 virus.
It cannot be denied that the economy is affected, and we are trying to get back on our feet as a society and people. But the impact on our process of accommodating students should be different now.
We need to preserve quality education.
I can’t blame students for attempting to change my decisions and allow them to pass despite not having complied with the academic requirements. They told me about the economic conditions they experience and the need to finish schooling to land a job as soon as possible.
The same is true with graduate education, when not only students would attempt to shorten the process but also the institutions that would value quantity for enrollment to survive.
Private institutions are trying to preserve their number of students while being challenged by the affordability of graduate and evolving education programs in state colleges and universities.
Private universities and colleges are forced to innovate with the threat of losing their grip to maintain quality. It doesn’t matter, though, as long as they continue to hit the number of enrollees for the semester.
I remember somebody told me that his friend was enrolled in a graduate program. It is known that the requirement for a graduate program is a thesis, which should be submitted individually and passed through the scrutiny of the panel after passing the comprehensive exam. It is a wonder, according to her, as the institution allowed four to five students to submit one thesis. Graduation was guaranteed as long as they paid for everything the school required.
I said we can’t judge exactly the situation, but it could sound similar to how things are altered by simplifying the process for the graduate degree to become marketable.
It reflects, however, how we failed to install safeguards in our graduate and undergraduate degrees while working to return to normalcy.
It should then be the role of our state institutions to consciously look at these dynamics. The pandemic has changed the rules of every game. But it is imperative to do what is best to preserve the future of society. Part of preserving is to ensure the quality of education and not give it to the challenges of practicality. I believe there is no shortcut to quality education in a society that desires empowerment for its people.*