Brandon Saunders just finished his undergraduate degree in architecture at Laurentian University’s McEwen School of Architecture, and had already confirmed his intention to attend the school’s architecture master’s program this fall.
Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit Canada, and all Laurentian classes were moved online as students finished out the school year.
Saunders called his experience with distance learning in March and April an “infuriating process,” as architecture is very much a hands-on discipline.
Laurentian recently announced the majority of its classes will be delivered through distance learning this fall, with a few in-person classes as needed. Most colleges and universities in the country have made similar announcements.
For its part, the McEwen School of Architecture has informed students that its curriculum is moving entirely to distance learning in September due to the pandemic.
Saunders said he is considering deferring his master’s studies until he can receive a more conventional education.
“I’m an architecture student, and most of the work we do is hands-on,” Saunders said.
“We have a massive workshop and everything. The concern now is that everything is online. We’re losing out a lot on the actual program itself, and then of course the international trips and the build construction projects will be cancelled at that point.
“Right now I’m looking at if I can actually take the year off, because I’ve already accepted. There’s just that simple fact that the program is not the program anymore.”
Saunders said he and his classmates have a group chat, and there are also a few other people who are “on the fence” about deferring their education.
He said if he were to put off his studies, he would find work and maybe do the apprenticeship part of his program so he would be further ahead when he started classes again.
According to an Abacus Data survey of Canadian students commissioned by the Canadian Association of University Teachers and the Canadian Federation of Students, Saunders isn’t alone in considering putting off his education.
The survey, conducted in late April and early May, showed 30 per cent of returning and new students might change their plans about enrolling at a post-secondary institution in the fall.
A large number — about 75 per cent — are worried that distance learning will create a poor learning experience. They also cited health and safety concerns and the financial impact of the pandemic among their reasons.
Sofia Descalzi, chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students, said she’s not surprised by the survey’s results.
“There’s definitely challenges that have come up in terms of moving entire curriculums to online learning, and the resources the faculty and students need to be able to make a smooth transition.” she said.
Students’ financial struggles have been compounded by the pandemic, not to mention that tuition fees have continued to increase across Canada — the Canadian Federation of Students are pushing for tuition fees to be lowered and eliminated.
McEwen School of Architecture director David Fortin said there’s no doubt the school would prefer to deliver its classes in person.
“I think the messaging we’re trying to give everyone is that we’re doing our best to give them the best education we can under the circumstances, and we’re all hopeful by January things will be back to a new kind of normal where the building will be able to be used again,” he said. “But until we know, we’ve just got to do the best we can.”
As for whether students can defer their education, Fortin said this is also still being worked out by the architecture school.
“It’s tricky to do that,” he said. “Obviously you can’t have a majority of your students defer, because it throws your delivery off balance over the years.”
Serge Demers, Laurentian’s interim vice-president, academic, said he’s expecting some students to say they’re taking a break from their studies because they don’t want to take part in distance learning.
Then there will be others who are trying to get their degree as fast as possible, and won’t want to take time off studying.
“I think it then becomes a student choice issue, which is, in my view, fair,” Demers said. “We’ll see how the students decide. What we’ve done is we’ve sent a survey out to students, both our returning and prospective students. to get an idea of what their thoughts are around returning to campus or taking these courses through distance.”
