The president of the state Board of Higher Education said the past semester has been a challenge – as students were forced to take classes on-line, rather than in person, because of the coronavirus.
Nick Hacker said the safety and well-being of students, faculty and staff is the system’s top concern.
"We want to thank students, faculty and staff for working toegther, and literally turning higher education on its head in a matter of weeks, to transition 11,000 face to face courses to alternative delivery formats," Hacker said.
But Hacker said higher-ed learned a lot from this.
"And we look forward to new opportunities as a result of this, although disruptive, positive change, and our ability to be flexible in the future," Hacker said.
Hacker said the campuses continue to take feedback from students on the on-line experience. He said on-line education isn’t for everyone.
"The real challengs is how to deliver experiential learning, with some on-line offerings," Hacker said. "We know students want some of both."
Hacker said that's the beauty of what the system has experienced.
"We probably advanced 20 years in the matter of 30 to 60 days," Hacker said.
Hacker said the Board and the individual campuses will continue to look at how things were accomplished, and where improvements need to be made.