Students at the University of Memphis have started a petition to allow hybrid learning options for the 2021-2022 school year.
Hybrid classes, which allow students to decide between in person and online lectures, are beneficial for mitigating the spread of Covid-19 and for disabled students, students say.
“Students would not have to choose between their education and the health and safety of themselves or others,” the petition reads. “It is unreasonable to ask a student to risk their scholarships and stay home when sick with no protection against being penalized for absences.”
Hybrid classes will also allow quarantining students to continue course work without falling behind, the petition adds.
Some fall classes will be offered online, some will be in-person, and some hybrid. But not all classes will have an online or hybrid component.
Tom Nenon, U of M’s provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, said Monday that “all courses for the fall semester will take place in the delivery format (online, on-ground, hybrid) that was published in the ‘Schedule of Classes.’
“Any changes your faculty member might consider must have prior written approval by the Dean and the Office of the Provost. To date, no such requests have been approved, so please plan to participate in the scheduled format.”
The petition calls for all classes to have a hybrid option, which it says won’t change anything for students who wish to attend classes in person, but will allow students to “prioritize their health over their GPA if they so desire.”
As a public university in Tennessee, the university is not able to require vaccines, according to U of M’s coronavirus communications page. However, the university is “strongly encouraging” students and staff to get vaccinated. Additionally, masks are required indoors and in places where social distancing is not possible on campus. But without a vaccination requirement and the rise of the Delta variant, students fear the return to campus will not be smooth.
“While their optimism is admirable, it is unrealistic and unsustainable,” the petition reads. “The pandemic is no longer an unprecedented time. We are aware of what we are up against and it is an opportunity for us to take steps toward being a safer campus.”
The petition had 251 signatures as of Wednesday morning.
