UNCW students worried schedule change may affect graduation

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — The UNC-system announced it would end most in-person courses starting March 20 to reduce the risk of spreading coronavirus.

UNCW has extended spring break through March 23 to allow more planning time for instructors to switch their classes from in-person to online.

While some students were excited to extend their vacation, some are worried about what this means for graduation.

“It’s very surreal that it’s happening,” UNCW senior Clarke Smith said. “It’s something you wouldn’t really expect to happen any time in college but especially spring semester senior year.”

Clarke Smith is in her final year of nursing school, meaning she needs to spend lots of time in the hospital.

“We’re required at UNCW to have over 900 hours of clinical experience and those are all built into our semesters,” she said.

Smith says if they’re unable to complete those hours this spring, it could possibly set them back an entire semester.

“As nursing students we are already prepared to put ourselves around people who are sick,” she said. “But if that’s not something that we’re able to do then it could really set us back a lot.”

While some classes may easily transition to online-only, she says clinical experience is not one of them.

“They can teach you anything in a classroom but until you really sit with patients and are around it you really don’t learn to the fullest that you need to,” Smith said. “So for us it’s imperative to have that time in the hospital.”

A common theme with this virus is not really knowing what’s next.

“There’s just a lot of uncertainty, nobody really knows what to do I don’t think,” Smith said.

Even though there’s uncertainty, she says she thinks the university is doing the best they can.

“They’ve done a good job communicating but there’s still a lot of unanswered questions,” Smith said. “So I would say to the university for them to just keep updating us and keep us in the loop.”

A university spokeswoman says they are working to manage the situation and answer questions.

UNCW’s website will be updated as new information becomes available.