Photo courtesy of Unsplash.
When students came back to college this fall, whether in-person or remotely, everyone knew that classes were going to look different this academic year. The administration at Connecticut College decided that it would be best if the semester was broken up into two halves. When we heard this proposal, many of us were fine with it, thinking we would only be taking two classes each quarter. I know that at least some of us (including me) did not realize how intense module classes would be. Hear from me and other students about how module classes are worsening student mental health and wellbeing with no end in sight.
Let’s look at the reasoning for having a module system. In theory, taking only two classes at a time seems less stressful but I think most students agree that the main issue with the module system is how it has been implemented, not the original idea. In theory, the module system is supposed to make students’ course load easier and less stressful during a pandemic. But is making classes much more intense the way to do it?
I spoke with some fellow students at Conn and here’s what they have said. All students wished to be anonymous in order for them to speak honestly about the module system.
A ’21 student believes that the module system’s failure lies in its misapplication: “the classes four days a week schedule would be fine if the college decided to commit to a full module format or a full semester format. It’s the half-and-half that’s really causing problems for students. To be in four classes and have some of those classes contain double the work just isn’t it. Professors are forgetting that this is a global pandemic and an election year—students are stressed enough. They can’t be expected to deal with such a demanding workload and keep their own mental health afloat, because don’t even get me started on the college’s abysmal excuse for a counseling center.”
Another ’21 student finds that the pacing of the system is to blame: “The module system felt extremely rushed. I had no time to digest what I was learning. Since I had classes every day, I was just caught up in the cycle of completing the coursework. This is because I had to take 2 mod and 2 semester courses at the same time. There were way too many schedule conflicts. However, if I was only taking 2 mod classes, my experience would have differed. I would have enjoyed the system more.”
A ’22 student finds it difficult balancing their work with the module system: “As a neuroscience major, three of my courses this semester are full-semester. I decided to take one Module 2 course and while I love the subject, I’m finding it hard to balance work from that class with my other three. Having class four days a week has also left me with less time to study for my other classes overall.”
A ’21 student struggles with feeling rushed in their classes: “I’ll start with Saturday classes. I don’t have any and I’m glad I don’t because that sounds awful. Four day a week classes sound fine to me. I know some language courses are four days a week. It’ll just feel like high school again. And lastly I’m not the biggest fan of the module system. Everything is rushed and condensed. Plus, since everything is rushed we can’t get everything we need to learn.”
Another ’21 student finds that they cannot learn well in module classes: “I hate them. It feels like trying to run a marathon. Even though it’s not as much work in an absolute sense it feels like so much more work because you don’t get the chance to absorb anything. For this reason, I also feel like I’m retaining a lot less.”
From the statements I have gathered about the module system in addition to my own input, it appears that the biggest issues students have with the module system are: the intensity of the classwork, Saturday classes, rushed classes, not learning enough, and increased class meeting frequencies or number of hours spent in class. Beyond those, the main issue with the module system is having both module classes and semester classes offered at the same time. How can students be expected to take two classes in which the intensity and coursework is doubled and then also take two normal classes at the same time? This is a common outcome. Very few of the friends and classmates I have spoken with are only taking module classes or only taking semester classes. Almost all are taking both which makes our course load much harder to handle.
Like many new ideas, the module system has been implemented and the results have been obvious. It appears that we have been guinea pigs for Conn this year and this project is failing. Hopefully we, the guinea pigs, will not be blamed for its failure in addition to having been negatively affected by the module system. Look out for an upcoming article on the module system from faculty members’ points of view where we’ll see if the students and faculty both agree on the module system’s failure. No matter how you feel towards the module system, take care of yourself, stay safe, and know that you’re not alone in adapting to a new academic life.
