AUC Freshmen Begin Virtual Learning Experience

By: Doha Wang

@Dohawang

September 3 marks the beginning of Fall 2020 under a hybrid format of both virtual sessions and on campus classes where newly enrolled freshmen are trying to readjust to their university experience.

This is the second semester for the AUC community to adopt online learning. Following Associate Provost for Strategic Enrollment Management Ahmed Tolba’s announcement, the current Fall semester caters to a lower density campus where 93 percent of classes are held virtually and only 7 percent offer a partial face-to-face component when necessary.

According to Director for Strategy Execution & Operational Excellence, Student Life Niveen Elebiary, the number of newly admitted undergraduate students for the semester is 1188, of which 1183 are enrolled in courses.

“What I expected to be cognate between college and high school is the academics; maintaining a high GPA is crucial, doing class assignments on time, having a huge workload, quizzes, midterms and finals,” said Sara Naseef, an undeclared Freshman.

First-year students have now emerged into their brand-new virtual learning experience. Most of them stepped into university with the preconception that they are entering a world where university is the same as high school only on a larger scale. To them, attendance, classroom etiquettes, assignments and homework still apply.

Most of the students have already had the chance to get comfortable with Zoom during their senior years of high school before entering university; and if not, then the First Year Program (FYP) made sure to teach them all its necessary features beforehand to get them going.

“The zoom sessions are engaging and very informative despite being online. The classes are not boring, and I got the feeling of actually being in a lecture despite the unprecedented situation,” said Ali Fakhreldein, an undeclared Freshman.

Needless to say, the Freshmen feel as though they are missing out on the true university experience because they are restricted from entering campus.

A majority of them have signed up for club associations and co-curricular activities during their FYP on-ground day; therefore, they feel the urge to have a sense of social life and physical contact with other students in order to properly engage.

“Although I had hoped that classes would be on campus, they were alright. So far, my professors have been nice in welcoming us to the university and answering any questions we may have about courses,” said Hager Hamdan, an undeclared Freshman.

Having access to the library and sports facilities is also an issue for the Freshmen. Some of them wish to meet-up with their FYP group members to study on campus or to just build their own community this early on in their path.

To them, communicating with someone else through a screen is just another reminder of how their need for face-to-face interaction has been taken away from them this semester.

“The most common issue that freshmen face upon entering AUC is the sudden transition from high school life to college life. Most of the freshmen feel overwhelmed about the academic workload which is way higher than anything they faced in their high schools. Also, they feel stressed about making new friends and getting out of their comfort zone,” said Bassel Halabi, HR and General Manager of FYP.