On March 12, Southern Miss President Rodney D. Bennett sent out a message providing updates about how COVID-19 will affect Southern Miss operations.
According to the message, spring break has been extended until March 27. Classes will resume March 30 in an online or remote delivery format for the rest of the semester.
All Southern Miss faculty – and students – are being asked to use the additional week of spring break to ensure that all course material is available in an online or remote delivery format.
The Southern Miss baseball season was put on hold on March 12 along with other sporting events.
The university is currently operating under an orange response status, which means the university has converted all functions to remote formats where possible and has limited operations.
Southern Miss announced on May 17 that commencement ceremonies will not be held in May. The university is working to schedule an alternate date but said it is unlikely that the ceremonies will be held until the end of the summer or later.
John Nathan Jefcoat, a senior English licensure major at Southern Miss, said he was surprised that the first presumptive case of COVID-19 in Mississippi was in Hattiesburg.
“The changes provided by the school I think are necessary, but unfortunate,” Jefcoat said. “There is definitely going to be a massive transition period for both professors and students. That could be difficult to handle early on. I just hope everyone is ready to transition properly.”
Jefcoat said he is worried about how the changes could affect his education.
“Like I said, it’s necessary, but going fully online is a big move that will take a lot of work for both professors and students,” Jefcoat said.
Brook Chambliss is a senior business management major at Southern Miss. Chambliss said she is also worried about how transitioning to an exclusively online format will influence her education.
“Personally, I feel like I will get overwhelmed quickly and the online course load will create more stress,” Chambliss said. “Currently, one of my professors has doubled the course content to make up for the in-class participation, so it’s very stressful.”
Chambliss said she understands why the university made the decisions it did.
“However, the face-to-face classes are mostly chosen by students who need that type of classroom learning,” Chambliss said. “It is a major difficulty for some students to perform well in an online class.”
Kaitlyn Myers, senior business administration major at Southern Miss, said she is trying to keep her dorm room as sanitary as possible.
“I’m trying to keep my head on straight and just be smart about everything because it’s here now,” Myers said.
Myers said the extended spring break will mean that students will only have to work harder when classes resume.
“Also, I don’t like all my classes being online now,” Myers said. “There is a reason I came to a physical school for college.”
Myers said she feels that she doesn’t learn as much in online classes as she does in face-to-face classes, but she understands why the changes had to be made.
“I’m trying to get canned goods for my dorm room just in case campus dining closes,” Myers said. “It’s been hard, though, because all stores across the state are empty. (It’s) quite ridiculous, really.
