challenging or BENEFICIAL?

MENTAL HEALTH DIFFERENCES BETWEEN REMOTE vs. IN-PERSON

By Andrew Yerian

Student attendance and mental health are very important aspects of every person’s life, and college students are no exception. College students have work, mountains of schoolwork, and personal matters outside of school and their jobs, which can take a toll on their mental health and attendance in class. However, the COVID-19 pandemic made things more difficult for college students and everyone else around them. Businesses were forced to change, small businesses across the United States were forced to shut down, people were fired for not getting the vaccine, and college students were forced to attend online classes. This drastically impacted in-person attendance and the mental health of several college students. In an interview, students were asked for their views on the transition from in-person to online attendance for classes. The students were asked if the transition was a good idea, if the campus should return to in-person completely, and if it had harmed or improved the mental health of college students. Here are the results:

Was the transition from in-person class to online class a good idea?

Of the students interviewed, 60% of them believed switching to online was a good idea. They said it was because it allowed them to complete their schoolwork more easily. 10% of students said no because they think some students do better in person, which is a proven fact. 30% of students were unsure if it was truly a good idea or not.

Should campus return to completely in-person?

After several months of being online and not having the professor around as much to obtain necessary help, some may think that more students would disagree with the idea of forsaking online classes. However, a whopping 70% of students believe that Wright State should not give up online classes at all. Some students appreciate the benefits of both in-person and online classes, even though this affects attendance because some students need to be in the classroom to learn. Only 20% of students believe that Wright State should have fully in-person classes, because they learn better in the classroom instead of online. The remaining 10% were unsure, in part because they were not in college when colleges began promoting online classes during the pandemic.

Did going from in-person to online harm or improve the mental health of college students?

It is no surprise that the change in attendance also affected the mental health of college students. Some even dropped out as a result, which hurt student attendance. However, 56% of college students think otherwise. These students believe so because the change in student attendance since COVID has allowed college students to have a happier life with classes that let students go at their own pace. 44% of those interviewed believe the change in student attendance has harmed mental health because of the lack of in-person interactions and the fact that people learn better when interacting with others, instead of relying on emails to gain knowledge.

This interview provides insight for those interested in understanding how student attendance has changed. It encourages readers to consider these questions for themselves.