Due to many uncertainties caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the University announced March 11 that all classes would be going online. For McIntire, pivoting quickly was no small feat.
The challenges were many: 64 faculty members had to prepare more than 100 courses for online delivery to 1,115 undergraduate and graduate students and another 1,900-plus students in other McIntire classes and certificate programs located in 24 different time zones across the planet. With the diligent efforts of staff, the equipment, network, and software were ready; the professors were trained; students were given access to remote labs; and student workers were enlisted to help moderate classes. Ultimately, McIntire took its all of its programs and classes online eight days after UVA’s announcement, on March 19.
The result?
On the first day of classes, 90% of faculty reported successful course delivery through Zoom to students participating from 52 countries. By the second day of classes, nearly all issues were fixed across the board. And by the end of the semester, classes and all Zoom meetings among faculty, staff, and students totaled 10,309 different sessions, accounting for more than 5.1 million minutes of virtual face-to-face interactions. Whew!
