We write as concerned members of the MSU community, both students and parents. We acknowledge that in the Covid landscape, there are unique challenges facing higher education. Some universities have risen to those challenges, while others face class action lawsuits for delivering a subpar academic experience to their students. As we enter this second year of learning in the Covid world, we call upon Michigan State University to do better.

According to the MSU Covid dashboard, the MSU community has a 90.7% vaccination rate and cases are steadily falling with just 35 cases of Covid reported as of 10/18/2021 on a campus of approximately 50,000. The University has done an excellent job of creating a safe environment for its students, facility, and staff. Yet, in a Facebook post on 8/9/2021, MSU Provost Mark Largent said only 68% of classes are offered in-person this semester compared to 91% of classes two years ago. We are disappointed, frustrated, and puzzled as to why the percentage of in-person classes has not risen back closer to pre-Covid levels. 

Additionally, we find the current course registration process to be unreasonable. Classes are routinely labeled as “TBD.” As a result, students are forced to choose their classes “blind”—without knowing whether the format will be in-person, online (either asynchronous or synchronous), or hybrid. 

We find it unreasonable and misleading to allow a class to be labeled as hybrid when, in fact, only a small percentage of its instruction is offered in-person. 

We find it unreasonable that classes can change from in-person to online seemingly at random and unrelated to public health concerns. 

We find it deeply concerning that many students are forced to take more online classes than they would like, leading to student isolation and depression. The University's strategy of addressing this by having administrators work one on one with students to change their course schedule once the semester begins is ineffective, cumbersome, and not scalable.

We find asynchronous classes particularly subpar, as they deprive students of the real-time interactive exchange of ideas, questions, and answers, that is integral to higher learning, and results in students basically having to teach themselves. 

We find that academic support resources are insufficient to meet student demand, particularly for those students taking online math classes.

As such, we call upon the university to implement the following changes to take effect immediately for the spring 2022 semester:

1. Classes should be labeled as either in-person, online (synchronous or asynchronous), or hybrid at the time of enrollment or, at the very least, no later than six weeks prior to the start of the semester, and should not be changed unless unforeseen public health concerns arise.
   
   
2. Any class labeled as hybrid should deliver at least 50% of its instruction in-person.

Going forward, we ask the University to publicly commit to raising the percentage of in-person classes, offering enough in-person learning for every student who desires it. Compared to other universities, MSU is falling short. At the University of Michigan,  91% of classes are offered in-person this semester. https://record.umich.edu/articles/a-look-at-campus-preparations-for-a-more-normal-fall-semester

We ask the University to commit the resources necessary to support students who may need supplemental face-to-face instruction while enrolled in online classes.

We ask the University to thoroughly examine the effectiveness of asynchronous classes and determine their appropriate place within a University setting. 

As a world class university with a $3+ billion endowment, MSU has the resources to meet these challenges. However, students attend college for a relatively short period of time. Therefore, it is critical that the Administration act quickly to tackle these concerns and provide an outstanding educational experience to all members of the Spartan community. 

We urge Michigan State University to “do better” and make resolving these issues its highest priority.

Respectfully,

Concerned MSU students and parents