Opinion: Students Confident With In-person Learning at Sauk Valley Community College

By Brenden Parkins

Students of all grades do best in a real classroom environment.  A recent survey shows that students attending in-person courses at Sauk Valley Community College are feeling very confident in choosing to attend in-person classes.  While many schools across the state continue to debate the merits of having in-person courses, Sauk continues to the offer best option by allowing students to have in-person classes along with online courses.

Any pupil can perform better within a classroom, and according to information gathered by recent polls of Sauk students, students are feeling more confident attending in-person classes, despite the current stage of the COVID-19 pandemic.  Nearly seventy-five percent of students agree that they are feeling comfortable with continuing to learn from the classroom rather than a virtual setting.

An almost identical number of students polled answered that they feel that they learned better at an in-person class rather than online in a virtual meeting, reaffirming that the majority of students agree that it is more important to attend in-person.

When asked in regards to the possibility of Sauk going full remote, Caitlin Cheatham, the Student Member to the Board of Trustees, said, “It has been brought up before, but, for right now, it’s not looking like that is going to have to happen.”  Cheatham explained social distancing, masks, and weekly testing have all contributed to keeping the college campus open.

Students do not need to worry about going full remote any time soon, but it is best to be prepared.  Sauk Valley Community College also offers a wide variety of online learning assistance should students find themselves struggling.  Cheatham explained Sauk already offers a variety of online assistance in the hope that if full remote learning should be required, the students will find the transition to be a lot smoother and not as daunting.  Hopefully, students of Sauk Valley Community College can continue learning in the classroom rather than online.

The Covid testing station located at Sauk Valley Community College as part of the effort to slow the spread of COVID-19.