A student criticized Coastal Carolina for its COVID response. It went viral on TikTok.
Coastal Carolina University (CCU) has come under criticism by students after some say they were given “zero accommodations” to help with their academics while quarantined due to COVID-19.
Sophomore student Jessica Bauwens posted a video on TikTok reading an email she sent to university president Michael T. Benson Saturday outlining some of her concerns. The email alleges the university isn’t allowing their students who are quarantined to attend their classes through Zoom or another conferencing system.
“I understand the University wants us in person, but when you fail to accommodate the rather large number of students who are positive and missing class, I question Coastals true intentions with students’ academic success,” Bauwens wrote in the email, which was provided to The Sun News. “We all want to be in person, all we are asking is for the University to accommodate the students who are ill and will inevitably fall behind academically due to the University’s lack of policy.”
In an email to The Sun News, CCU Provost Dan Ennis said it’s up to the individual professor if they want to use Zoom or another form of streaming their class depending on the course, despite Bauwens’ understanding that professors weren’t allowed to stream their classes in that way.
“The class format and delivery determines what are the best accommodations,” Ennis wrote. “For example, a dance professor probably wouldn’t use Zoom. A History professor who lectures heavily might.”
Bauwens hadn’t received a response from Benson as of Monday morning, she said, but the school said his administrative staff responded the day the email was received. CCU spokesperson Martha Hunn said the dean of Bauwens’ specific college has been communicating with her, following the typical protocol.
Bauwens’ video on TikTok has amassed more than 100,000 likes on the platform, and a petition asking for better academic resources during quarantine has gotten more than 3,800 signatures as of Monday afternoon.
The university reported 62 positive cases from August 19 to August 25, according to its COVID-19 dashboard. Since July 29, 117 cases have been reported in staff and students. Around 2.2% of the schools’ residential population is in quarantine with 101 students, the dashboard says.
CCU requires masks in all indoor areas on campus this year. Vaccinations are also encouraged, both through university messaging and the chance to win scholarships, including a full ride for one semester. Absences due to COVID-19 exposure or infection are also considered excused. While Bauwens said she appreciates what CCU is doing to keep students safe, she said the same effort needs to be extended to ensuring students are academically supported.
The office of the Dean of Students works with students to provide resources during their quarantine, but students need to work with their professors individually to keep up in class and arrangements are made on a “case-by-case basis,” according to CCU’s website. A similar process is outlined in an email sent to students from Provost Dan Ennis that was reviewed by a Sun News reporter.
“There is not a one-size-fits all solution; patience and flexibility on the part of both students and faculty are necessary to allow this university to continue to operate in the face of a serious public health challenge,” Ennis wrote in the email.
But the lack of a “universal plan” for professors and students to follow during their quarantine period creates more obstacles, Bauwens said, leaving students to their own devices to try to learn the material if they can’t stream the class while it happens. She said she’s relied on other students’ notes and leaned on her ability to teach herself from the textbook since testing positive for COVID-19 last week.
“Since most of my classes are lecture-based, there’s no way for me to make up those lectures,” she told The Sun News. “Once it’s happened, it’s happened. So I’m missing out on some really good material that I need in order to complete assignments and take tests. It will be affecting my GPA for sure.”
Correction: A previous version of this article said CCU didn’t report student quarantines. The error has been corrected.
This story was originally published August 31, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
