Many students have a full schedule between taking classes, work and any other responsibilities, so many choose to take asynchronous classes that can be done on their own time.
If a class is listed as asynchronous but adds things that need to be completed in certain time frames beyond regular assignment deadlines, then that class may no longer fit within the student’s schedule and isn’t completely asynchronous anymore.
The Los Rios Community College District and American River College should make things clearly defined on the class schedule lists, so that students know exactly what they are signing up for and can be properly prepared to start the semester.
With asynchronous class setups not being clearly defined, students may be forced to drop a class that is needed, or it can force them to adjust their schedule to try to make everything fit. This can lead to loss of sleep, extra stress and can even compromise how well a student does in their other classes.
I have classes every day during the week and built a schedule around that with an asynchronous class being the last one I chose after my schedule was figured out.
When I looked at the syllabus for the class, it showed that assignments were built around an imaginary class schedule that was designed around “class periods.”
These “class periods” interfere with one of the classes that I need to go to in-person, so I now have to stay up late the night before to get all my work done before the due date.
This leads to a lack of sleep and forces me to go to my morning in-person class sleep-deprived, which doesn’t allow me to put my full energy and focus into the class. This also forces me to try to play catch-up with my sleep, which takes time away from being able to work on assignments and study.
If I knew from the beginning what I was signing up for, I probably would choose a different class that better fit my schedule and didn’t cause any problems. But now, I am forced to stay in the class and make everything work the best I can.
There are other classes that are also asynchronous and force students to take tests at a certain time and they must be recorded. This also isn’t really an asynchronous class anymore since there is technically a required meeting time.
All of these added parts to an asynchronous class adds more stress to students, which can result in a drop-off in performance that doesn’t look good for the students, the college or the district.
The college and district should clearly define what an asynchronous class is and what the requirements for it are, so that students can know exactly what they are signing up for, which gives them the best chance to succeed.
