As UWA offers all summer courses online in continued COVID-19 response, students seeing reduced costs without typical fees, opportunity to expedite programs

The University of West Alabama announced on April 3 that all of the university’s summer courses would be offered online in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In a season that has brought unprecedented changes and challenges, a growing number of students say they look forward to taking advantage of the opportunity, and the University is working to ensure that students stay on track in their academic programs and career goals.

“We made this decision in early April, following the many changes necessitated by the pandemic for the remainder of our spring semester,” said UWA Provost Tim Edwards. “We anticipated continuation of social distancing and other health and safety protocols, and we wanted to be proactive in helping students plan for the coming months and navigate any nuances specific to their academic programs.”

All on-campus courses that were originally scheduled to be offered during the summer 2020 session will now be offered online, with the semester beginning Wednesday, May 27, just as the on-campus summer session would have. Students who enroll in the adapted classes will still be considered on-campus students. Online courses scheduled for summer are not affected by the transition for on-campus classes.

“Some students have expressed concern that they could not afford to take courses for the summer,” Edwards said. “ Students who enroll for on-campus summer courses will pay on-campus tuition, but they will see the benefit and savings of fewer fees than normal. In fact, the only fee assessed is the technology fee, and it is only 50 dollars, which is much lower than the typical on-campus technology fee. The savings from typical fees amounts to some $500 or more.”

Summer aid is available for those who qualify. UWA’s Financial Aid Center emailed guidance for completing the summer aid request earlier this month (see sidebar). Students who have already been offered aid for the summer do not need to complete the request. Many have already begun submitting requests, and because of the significant increase in requests, the Financial Aid Center asks that students allow time for processing and not submit more than once.

Students are using this unique time’s flexibility to catch up on hours they may have missed thus far and to get ahead of schedule.

“We are working with students who will not be able to complete their summer internships as planned, and they are deciding to take courses this summer that they would normally take in the fall so they can open their schedule for completing the internships in the fall semester,” said Angel Jowers, who oversees retention efforts at UWA and directs UWA CARES, the Center for Academic Retention and Enrichment Services.

UWA’s already strong online program has helped in the transition to online for on-campus courses, as many UWA programs already existed in an online format. Likewise, many students were already enrolled in a hybrid of on-campus and online courses.

“The transition has, by no means, been easy for our students, faculty, or staff, particularly those who have not taught or learned in the online environment because it’s not what anyone set out to do just a couple of months prior,” Edwards said. “However, we have a good support system in place to offer guidance for those who are in completely unfamiliar territory.”

Edwards said that academic units are facing new challenges for instruction methods and completion of lab hours, and he commended faculty and students alike for their flexibility and adaptability.

“We are striving to accommodate students’ needs to the fullest extent possible,” Edwards said. “We are surrounded by uncertainty, but UWA students can be certain that we are committed to helping them gain the knowledge and education they need to complete their degrees and succeed as college students and after graduation.”

INSTRUCTIONS FOR STUDENTS APPLYING FOR SUMMER AID

Before completing the Summer Aid Request, please review your awards in your Self Service Portal to make sure you have not already been offered an award for the summer. If you have not been awarded, follow these instructions to complete the 2020 Summer Aid Request:

  1. Go to www.uwa.edu.
  2. Click on the “Current Students, Faculty, and Staff” tab.
  3. Click on the “eForms” link.
  4. Login with your UWA email address and password.
  5. View and complete the 2020 Summer Aid Request found under the “Financial Aid” section of the “Forms” tab.

REGISTRATION STEPS FOR SUMMER ORIENTATION

  1. Schedules for incoming freshmen and students transferring less than 24 hours will have pre-set schedules based on major, ACT sub-scores, and any transfer credits.
  2. Students will log onto Self-Service to view the pre-set schedule.
  3. Moderated Zoom meetings will be scheduled for small groups of students based on major/college. All CARES advisors will be present for each Zoom meeting.
  4. If the student has no questions, he or she can send an email to retention@uwa.edu to agree to the schedule as planned. He or she will not be required to attend the Zoom meeting for his or her major/college but is welcome to do so if desired.
  5. If a student has questions about the planned schedule, he or she must attend the Zoom meeting for the appropriate major/college. General questions can be addressed in the main Zoom call. For more specific questions, the moderator will create a breakout room for the student and one CARES advisor.
  6. Once all questions or concerns have been addressed, the students will send an email to retention@uwa.edu confirming agreement with the registered schedule.