For the first 3 weeks, all classes were virtual, no matter the method selected when registering.
Since Feb. 15th, any class that was listed as ‘in-person’ is exactly that. Some classes are “hybrid”, which means that some of the class is in-person and some are on zoom. This is the case for labs, for example, where they bring in 1/2 the class for in-person at a time to be consistent with social distancing. (My kid was so excited to go to her lab this week!) Classes are also asynchronous (work at your own pace) and synchronous (zoom - you must sign on during class time). They are what was posted for the specific class during registration in Fall.
@cgemaj With regards to the fall and do we believe them? I don’t think they are purposefully misleading the students and community - I believe they have every intention of being back. Of course, a year ago, they had no clue we would be here today either. I have heard - through connections - that professors were told about a month ago to “expect” to be teaching in-person in Fall 2021. I put the “expect” in quotes, because it was just shy of “forced” and if you couldn’t be ready to teach in-person, then it might be a good year to take a semester off or a leave of absence or something. Fear is not a good reason to teach zoom for next fall. Of course, we could have the zombie apocalypse and they can’t deliver. But I am hopeful that the administration understands how critical it will be to get back to in-person.
How do you feel about asynchronous courses? I think that it might be harder to make that work as a freshman. I have taken some asynchronous courses this year and I have not enjoyed the experience.
He is a telecommunications major with a focus on production. He’ll be working with several departments to create online content for the university. Also, he will be on the football field each week with the team and even will travel with the team because he will be producing Blue Band content and content for the jumbo tron. He is beyond thrilled!
Penn State is not a state school and therefore isn’t part of the state system of higher ed (Passhe schools). So it’s not a guarantee that the classes would transfer. Check the Penn State transfer credit portal to see what classes will transfer.
This is interesting to me. If it’s not considered a state school, what is it? Private? I knew about the PASSHE schools and that it wasn’t one of them, but I didn’t know the difference.
it’s a trick that the PA gov’t uses to justify having a flagship that isn’t properly funded. PSu functions as a state flagship but is not a state university, despite a name clearly indicating it is. Penn State is “state-related”, like the contract colleges in NYS, except there’s no equivalent to SUNY Bing/Geneseo/Albany/SB with 7K tuition in PA. The PASSHE colleges are true “public” colleges, except that until the late 90s they got 80% of their budget from the state and nowadays it’s only 25%. Nowadays, PSU is barely funded by the state. That explains the sky-high instate tuition and low financial aid. I say this as someone who respects Penn State but the financial structure is a problem - and not sure there’s a solution.
(Look at the funding patterns for PSu and PASSHE, look at the COA patterns at both types of schools, and you’ll see something interesting. But I don’t know what can be done, returning to 1997 per-student funding patterns doesn’t seem in the cards and I’m not sure turning the PASSHE Schools into SUNY-equivalents through a proper strategy is feasible at this point, since they effectively function as very expensive directionals.)
yes but they rarely do.
When they do, it’s usually with the letter of admission and/or the financial aid package (check out letter of admission and/or portal).
Exception: Schreyer Scholars (automatic if you’re among those admitted, announcement early March), “named” scholarships/Millenium (most have already been announced).
@tennis34 Like any other class, depends on the professor and how it is taught! Some post lectures that have to be watched at your own convenience, some post readings, etc. Instead of “class discussion”, discussions posts and boards are used.
There can be a good prof teaching asynchronous that is better than a bad in-person class. Like everything else, there is no pat answer.
Just a question I had. For IVY leagues and deferred schools like Georgia Tech, how much would a mid-year report matter? I had a borderline grade that didn’t go my way (89.4), so I ended up with a B in an AP Science class, as a STEM major. I have gotten 3 B’s before (2 in freshman and 1 in sophomore), but they were in the hardest classes in my school and I got straight A’s in my junior year. I have a 3.93 GPA as of now. How much would this ‘B’ hurt? I’m really too upset by it, but I just have that “what if I got 1 more MC Question right” feeling/regret.
My son was about to accept his offer to Penn State today and then the mail arrived with a $13,500 renewable scholarship to Ohio State. Is there any way I can ask Penn State for some type of merit? We were only “offered” the Stafford loan at this point.